Hong Kong Mile

The Hong Kong Mile – one of the four Group 1 titles that make up the annual Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) – is widely considered one of the greatest mile races in the world. Held every December, the HK$25,000,000 (AU$3.9m) feature is run at Sha Tin and has been won by some of Hong Kong’s greatest champion thoroughbreds.

Because of the large audience for the HKIR meeting, punters love betting into the big Hong Kong pools and the bookmakers have great fixed-odds prices available throughout the year. Betting on Hong Kong races is extremely popular in Australia and the Hong Kong Mile is one of the most exciting races of the year.

2022 Hong Kong Mile betting guide

Plucking the winner of the Hong Kong Mile can be tough, although some heavily backed and champion horses have won it in the past – including Good Ba Ba, who won it three successive years between 2007-09.

The race is traditionally won by mature horses with miles in their legs, as shown by 13 of the last 15 winners being five years or older. The only exceptions in recent years have been Maurice (4yo) in 2015 and then Admire Mars (3yo) in 2019.

The Hong Kong Mile sits alongside races like the Hong Kong Derby, Hong Kong Classic Cup and the Hong Kong Vase as some of the most popular races at racing betting sites.

Best bookmakers for Hong Kong Mile betting

All of HorseBetting’s recommended online bookmakers run markets for the Hong Kong Mile each year, including all-in and futures options. Check out the licensed betting sites below to find the best odds for the 2022 Hong Kong Mile.

Sport Table

2021 Hong Kong Mile nominations

Previous Hong Kong Mile fields

• 2020

  No.	Horse/Bred	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Odds
  1	Beauty Generation	D Hayes	Z Purton	3	57	$9
  2	Golden Sixty	K Lui	C Ho	7	57	$1.80
  3	Admire Mars	R Moore	Y Tomomichi	10	57	$6
  4	Ka Ying Star	A Cruz	C Schofield	9	57	$15
  5	Southern Legend	C Fownes	K Teetan	6	57	$26
  6	Waikuku	J Size	J Moreria	5	57	$9
  7	Romanised	K Condon	W Lee	7	57	$17
  8	Simply Brilliant	F Lore	K Leung	8	57	$67
  9	Mighty Giant	P Yiu	A Badel	2	57	$26
  10	Order Of Australia	A P O’Brien	P-C Boudot	1	56.5	$13

• 2019

  No.	Horse/Bred	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Odds
  1	Beauty Generation	J Moore	Z Purton	5	57	$2.90
  2	Indy Champ	H Otonashi	D Lane	3	57	$2.90
  3	Persian Knight	Y Ikee	O Murphy	6	57	$64
  4	Waikuku	J Size	J Moreira	10	57	$3.90
  5	Zaaki	Sir M R Stoute	R Moore	2	57	$130
  6	Ka Ying Star	A S Cruz	K Teetan	1	57	$7.90
  7	Simply Brilliant	F C Lor	A Badel	7	57	$99
  8	Citron Spirit	P F Yiu	C Y Ho	8	57	$124
  9	Admire Mars	Y Tomomichi	C Soumillom	4	56.5	$27
  10	Normcore	K Hagiwara	C Lemaire	9	56.5	$14

• 2018

  No.	Silks	Horse/Bred	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Odds
  1		Beauty Generation	J Moore	Z Purton	12	57	$1.85
  2		Persain Knight	Y Ikee	M Demuro	14	57	$7.50
  3		Comin’ Through	C Waller	M Walker	13	57	$41
  4		Mozu Ascot	Y Yahagi	C Lemaire	2	57	$7.50
  5		Beauty Only	T Cruz	H Bowman	9	57	$12
  6		Beat The Bank	A Balding	O Murphy	5	57	$15
  7		Fifty Fifty	P Ho	J McDonald	4	57	$26
  8		Singapore Sling	T Millard	S de Sousa	6	57	$17
  9		Southern Legend	C Fownes	D Whyte	10	57	$13
  10		Inns Of Court	A Fabre	M Barzalona	3	57	$13
  11		Nothingilikemore	J Size	J Moreira	11	57	$21
  12		What Else But You	J Size	K Teetan	1	57	$51
  13		One Master	W Haggas	R Moore	8	55.5	$15
  14		Vivlos	Y Tomomichi	W Buick	7	55.5	$17

• 2017

  No.	Silks	Horse/Bred	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Odds
  1		Beauty Only (IRE)	Tony Cruz	N Rawiller	12	57	$6.50
  2		Helene Paragon (FR)	John Moore	J Bowman	2	57	$7.50
  3		Contentment (AUS)	John Size	M Chadwick	8	57	$13
  4		Satono Aladdin (JPN)	Yasutoshi Ikee	J Moreira	4	57	$8
  5		Joyful Trinity (IRE)	John Moore	B Prebble	10	57	$41
  6		Lightning Spear (GB)	David Simcock	Tommy Berry	1	57	$26
  7		Seasons Bloom (Aus)	Danny Shum	S Pasquier	5	57	$3.80
  8		Horse Of Fortune (SAF)	Tony Millard	F X Bertras	13	57	$34
  9		Karar (GB)	Francis-Henri Graffard	G Mosse	3	57	$34
  10		Beauty Generation (NZ)	John Moore	O Doleuze	9	57	$8.50
  11		Sichuan Dar (AUS)	Tony Millard	S De Sousa	6	57	$67
  12		Western Express (AUS)	John Size	S Clipperton	7	57	$26
  13		Lancaster Bomber (USA)	Aidan O’Brien	Ryan Moore	11	56.6	$12
  14		Roly Poly (USA)	Aidan O’Brien	JA Heffernan	14	55	$7

Notable Hong Kong Mile winners

• Good Ba Ba
  Good Ba Ba was an outstanding gelding which won three consecutive Hong Kong Miles. The 2008 Hong Kong Horse of the Year had a stellar career with 15 wins from 33 starts and it currently holds the the race-record time of 1:32.71 which was set in 2008. It won in 2007 and 2008 with trainer Andreas Schutz before being sent to the Derek Cruz stable for its third consecutive victory.
• Sunline
  Sunline won the 2000 Hong Kong Mile in what has become one of the most exciting races in history. The New Zealand-trained mare was well-backed to win at Sha Tin, despite failing in its previous attempt in 1999, but the two-time Cox Plate champion was in form during the spring and only Hong Kong champion Fairy King Prawn could push it close. The battle between Sunline and Fairy King Prawn was one for the ages as Sunline assumed its customary leaders role. Fairy King Prawn settled back during the run and made its charge around the home turn. It appeared as though the local hope would run Sunline down, but the Kiwi champion fought gamely and held on. “The mare of the world” call echoed around Sha Tin, giving New Zealand its biggest international win since Kiwi won the Japan Cup.
• Jim And Tonic
  Jim And Tonic was a world-class thoroughbred which won the 2008 Hong Kong Mile (Bowl) before winning the 2009 Hong Kong Cup. The French-trained champion won all around the world which included France, Hong Kong and Dubai. The globetrotting gelding clocked up more than 250 air miles throughout its career which was a testament to its guts and determination.

2020 Hong Kong Mile result

Recent runnings of the Hong Kong Mile

• 2020: Golden Sixty salutes as one of the shortest priced winners
  Having been sent around a $1.30 hot pot, Golden Sixty rewarded those punters who took the short odds with an emphatic victory. Having hit the front with 200m to go, he simply never looked like getting beaten and in doing so brought up an 11th straight win.
• 2019: Admire Mars stuns in the HK Mile
  Beauty Generation was aiming to string together three wins in the HK Mile, however it was Admire Mars that got the better of the superstar galloper and other market fancies. Admire Mars took over from Beauty Generation with 100 metres to go and powered through the line to claim another feature for Japanese trainers on a day where Japanese gallopers had a field day. Waikuku had to settle for second after a massive run to just miss, and Beauty Generation had to settle for third after tiring during the concluding stages.
• 2018: Beauty Generation claims consecutive Hong Kong Mile wins
  Beauty Generation went back-to-back in the Hong Kong Mile in what was one of the most dominant victories in HKIR history. Jockey Zac Purton didn’t press the issue out of the gate dispute jumping from a tricky barrier but once the field settled Beauty Generation took to the head of affairs and was never headed. Vivlos and Southern Legend rounded out the placings but they were in a race of their own.
• 2017: Beauty Generation dominates the HK Mile
  Another front-running ride on HKIR delivered as Beauty Generation won the Mile from start to finish. Derek Leung had to push the horse along out of the gates but the galloper settled nicely after finding the lead and was never headed, booting away in the concluding stages to record a comfortable victory.
• 2016: Purton wins with a peach on Beauty Only
  Beauty Only continued a stunning night for Zac Purton who had already won aboard Aerovelocity in the Hong Kong Sprint. The quality runner was produced to the outside by Purton and it sprinted past race-favourite Able Friend to record a good victory over fellow Australian Hugh Bowman who rode Helene Paragon. Joyful Trinity held on well for third in front of Contentment which raced well. Read the full report here.
• 2015: Maurice gets his moment in the HK Mile
  Maurice came of age when winning in 2015 and the local runner had the crowd cheering. With Ryan Moore in the saddle, Maurice was too good for its opposition and it edged out Giant Treasure and race-favourite Able Friend which couldn’t go back-to-back in the Mile. Maurice paid $4 with bookmakers and it since continued to perform well on the world stage.
• 2014: Able Friend rewards favourite punters
  Able Friend was one of the shortest priced winners of the Hong Kong Mile and one of the most impressive. The John Moore-trained runner paid $1.30 with bookmakers and romped home by 4.25 lengths over Gold-Fun and outsider Grand Prix Boss. It couldn’t back that win up in 2015, but its win in 2014 will remain in the history books.
• 2013: Glorious Days springs an upset
  Glorious Days created an upset in 2013 for trainer John Size. It was formerly trained by Stephen and Trevor McKee in New Zealand, but it went to Hong Kong and won the Mile at odds of $14 after finishing second in 2012. It was the highlight of its career in beating Gold-Fun by 0.75 lengths, but the then six=year-old failed to continue on with that success.
• 2012: Ambitious Dragon lands the cash in the Hong Kong Mile
  Ambitious Dragon was a well-fancied runner in 2012 and it got the job done well. The six-year-old by Pins won with Australia’s Zuc Purton in the saddle and it carried plenty of support in the betting at $4.90. 2013 winner Glorious Days finished second with long-shot Packing OK ($11.50 to place) survived a protest lodged by the connections of Gordon Lord Byron in fourth.
• 2011: Able One rewrites the history books
  Able One scored one of the biggest upsets in the race’s history when winning at odds of $42.80. The John Moore-trained gelding was a ripe nine-year-old which had one more big race win left in it. The son of Cape Cross wasn’t expected to beat the likes of New Zealand Derby winner Jimmy Choux and Hong Kong runner Xtension, but it held off all challengers in a desperately tight finish.

Hong Kong Mile past winners list

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