The Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races is the biggest day of racing in Asia, with four Group 1 events under weight-for-age conditions contested over the Sha Tin turf.
The longest race on the card is the $1.8 million Hong Kong Vase (G1) at 1 1/2 miles around two turns. With the withdrawal of likely favorite and defending champion Ouija Board the day before the race due to injury, only nine ran in this year's edition. The fairytale story of Collier Hill took yet another barely imaginable twist as the eight-year-old British stayer repelled the late thrust of Kastoria by a nose to win, in a time of 2:27.10. The horse that cost just $10,000 as a cast-off and was bought to win a bumper at Catterick before a spell over hurdles has now won about $4 million in purses, adding to wins in last year's Irish St. Leger and the Canadian International in October. The 11-1 shot raced prominently and took over the lead with 3/16 of a mile to go and looked to have the race in safe keeping at the 1/8 pole, but that was when Mick Kinane had extricated 7-1 Kastoria from an awkward passage and unleashed a tremendous run that brought him to within an agonizing margin of the winner. 11-1 Shamdala, owned like the runner-up by the Aga Khan, ran third with 7-2 Song Of Wind fourth for Japan.
