HONG KONG, China (AFP) – British jo ckey Ryan Moore was the star of the show at the Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) on Sunday (December 13), winning two of the four Group One contests.

It was a day of international dominance at the Sha Tin Racecourse, with only the victory of Hong Kong’s best horse Golden Sixty preventing the raiders from landing a clean sweep on the city’s biggest day of racing.

After opening proceedings with a commanding victory riding Aidan O’Brien-trained Mogul in the Hong Kong Vase (2,400m), Moore snared the Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m) aboard Japanese outsider Danon Smash.

Moore’s win in the Sprint saw him join star trio Gerald Mosse, Zac Purton and Joao Moreira as the only jockeys to win all four HKIR Group One races, and the 37-year-old was just grateful to get a chance to achieve the feat in a year when global racing has been hit hard by COVID-19.

“I’m very thankful to everyone at the Hong Kong Jockey Club for getting us over here and giving us a chance to ride,” he said, adding that he believes three-year-old colt Mogul can go on to become a very special horse.

“He’s a horse that we always expected a lot from; he just took a while to really put himself together. He seems a beautiful horse and all being well, I think he’ll be a really nice four-year-old.”

Purton also left his mark on the day, taking Hong Kong’s richest race – the HK$28-million (US$3.6-million) Hong Kong Cup (2,000m) – with another Japanese galloper in Normcore to become the most successful jockey in the history of HKIR.

Purton, who entered the meeting equal with Mosse on eight HKIR Group One wins, capped a big week that also saw him win Wednesday’s International Jockeys’ Championship.

“Obviously now [that] I’ve won more international races than anyone else, that just tops it off,” he said.

This year’s Hong Kong Derby winner, Golden Sixty secured his first Group One win under star local jockey Vincent Ho in the Hong Kong Mile to cement his place among the world’s best.

“Before the race I was still worried about the overseas horses but after the race the horse has told me he is a champion,” said trainer Francis Lui.