Team British Racing’s representative Highfield Princess features among 15 G1 winners and 24 international horses entered in the Longines-sponsored Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) at Sha Tin on Sunday December 10.
The four-time G1 winner landed the Prix de l’Abbaye on the Arc card at Longchamp on her most recent outing, after which trainer John Quinn decided to bypass the Breeders’ Cup in favour of a crack at the Hong Kong Sprint with the fan favourite.
“We had the Breeders’ Cup in our mind as well as Hong Kong, but we thought she had quite a hard race in the l’Abbaye so we decided to miss the Breeders’ Cup and head to Hong Kong,” explained Quinn, speaking to Great British Racing.
“We feel we’ve done the right thing. She’s training well – she’s nice and fresh, she’s fit. I took her away for a racecourse gallop three weeks ago and I was pleased with her.”
Quinn trains Highfield Princess for John Fairley, who owns the six-year-old mare under the Trainers House Enterprises Ltd banner.
“Highfield Princess has been a wonderful mare for me and the yard and the owners,” added Quinn. “This year she’s run fantastically well – Royal Ascot twice without winning! She ran really well in the King’s Stand and three days later in the Platinum Jubilee, and also at Glorious Goodwood, she was spectacular.”
North Yorkshire-based Quinn is in no doubt about the attractions of international racing, explaining: “I think it is absolutely imperative as a trainer that you should try and sell your trade around the world.
“The world is a small place now and the prize-money around the world is absolutely fantastic. It’s a wonderful thing to have some good racehorses to travel the world because it’s great for the owner, it’s great for the horse and it’s great for us.”
Highfield Princess will be joined at Sha Tin by British-trained compatriot West Wind Blows, who contests the Hong Kong Vase for Simon & Ed Crisford after a busy time at the Melbourne Spring Carnival, where he was runner-up in a pair of G1 events.
• Visit the Great British Racing International website and the Hong Kong Jockey Club website
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