Cashing in at Hong Kong’s international meetings has become something of a national pastime in Japan, but – much like 2023 – gallopers from the Land of the Rising Sun are anything but assured of success at Sha Tin this Sunday.

Last year was a rare blank for Japan in Hong Kong, with its gallopers failing to land a blow at either of the city’s two marquee race days – Champions Day and the Hong Kong International Races (HKIR).

Before 2023, you had to go right back to 2018 to find one of Hong Kong’s international meetings at which Japan had a presence without winning, with Champions Day restricted only to local participation in 2020 and 2022 because of the pandemic.

Last year’s miss did of course coincide with the continuation of one of Hong Kong racing’s great eras, with Golden Sixty, Romantic Warrior and Lucky Sweynesse bagging six of the seven Group Ones across HKIR and Champions Day.

Again the home team is strong and, as can be the case, the team of gallopers from Japan is devoid of anything that could be considered elite – plenty of the chat around the Hong Kong racing traps this week has been about the lack of depth among the raiders.

But while Golden Sixty (Group One Champions Mile) and Romantic Warrior (Group One QE II Cup) return, there is no Lucky Sweynesse and perhaps it is in the Group One Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1,200m) where Japan can strike.

California Spangle flies the flag for Hong Kong fresh off victory in Dubai’s Group One Al Quoz Sprint (1,200m), but he does tackle six furlongs around a bend for the first time since January 2022.

Victor The Winner is Hong Kong’s other recent Group One winner in the race after snaring the Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m) in January before heading to Japan for last month’s Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1,200m), where he finished three lengths adrift of winner Mad Cool on a yielding surface.

That effort by Mad Cool was a vast improvement on his eighth in December’s Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m), where he was four and a half lengths behind Lucky Sweynesse and also soundly beaten by Victor The Winner.

Mad Cool’s ability to travel must again come into question, but what he does boast is two wins from two starts on yielding tracks in Japan – something that could prove telling if the weather forecast between now and Sunday stands up.

Prognosis is the other obvious danger from Japan after getting within a length of Romantic Warrior in the Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m) in December and he was impressive when winning the Group Two Kinko Sho (2,000m) last start.

He is still to win a Group One, however, and Romantic Warrior looks to have the tools to ensure it stays that way.

Boughey to Hong Kong?

There was plenty of speculation about the likelihood of a permanent Hong Kong move for British trainer George Boughey when he was spotted at Sha Tin last month, but the man himself maintains his visit was purely to put plans in place to bring his filly Believing to Champions Day.

At just 32 and with Group One success to his name, Boughey fits the Jockey Club’s mould, but his focus at Thursday morning’s barrier draw was purely on this weekend’s Chairman’s Sprint Prize.

“I’d been to Hong Kong five or six years ago and we had it in mind that Believing was a possibility to come here. I was shown around and it just gave me the confidence to bring her,” he said.

“It just puts us at ease seeing her drawn where she is – I hoped that we’d draw barrier four. It’s not too wide, not too low and it gives us options.

“She looked good this morning and I’m very happy with how she’s acclimatised out here. Obviously it’s very different to England. It was very cold when we left and I think her coat has come forward again. She is certainly going the right way and Harry [Bentley] was happy with her this morning.”