‘I’ve never seen anything like it’: Conghua visit puts Hong Kong’s long game in focus ahead of sale

Cover image courtesy of The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Friday night’s Hong Kong International Sale will bring 16 horses into the Sha Tin parade ring, with a later date than originally planned and a deeper buying bench than first expected.

The 2026 sale had been scheduled for March, a timing that would have allowed the horses to arrive earlier and settle into Hong Kong ahead of their 4-year-old season. Quarantine complications forced the auction back to July, placing it in Hong Kong’s heat and tropical storm season, but HKJC Executive Manager Hong Kong International Sale and Owner Advisory Services Danny Rolston said the delay has also brought fresh buyers into play.

“We’d originally scheduled the sale for March, which brings the horses in earlier and gives them time to acclimatise ahead of their 4-year-old season, which is their important Classic season,” Rolston said.

“We hit some quarantine complications which necessitated a delay. As with every challenge, there is an opportunity. The most recent ballot for permits was in June, so despite holding the sale in the tropical storm season and the heat of summer, we’ve also had an increase in potential purchasers for the sale.

“This year, we have a bigger buying bench which helps from a commercial perspective.”

Permits push greater demand

Rolston expects around 800 people to attend the auction, although permit numbers and registered buyer figures remain confidential. Clint Donovan will take the rostrum, having travelled to Hong Kong for a sale he described as one of the highlights of his year as an auctioneer.

“It is a privilege to be able to be here and represent the Hong Kong Jockey Club. It’s a very prestigious sale and is one of the highlights of my calendar year as an auctioneer,” Donovan said.

The obvious reference point for every buyer is Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), who was sold through this auction in 2021 and has since become the world’s richest racehorse. G3 Chinese Club Challenge Cup winner Patch Of Theta (Zoustar) came through the 2023 sale, while last year’s auction has already produced two multiple winners this season in Happy Boss (Toronado {Ire}) and Super Goldendragon (Ire) (Kitten’s Joy {USA}).

Those graduates give the sale its recent record, but the Hong Kong International Sale is shaped as much by the jurisdiction as by the catalogue. Owners need a permit to buy, the club sources horses for a very specific racing environment, and the vetting is designed to protect owners from buying horses unlikely to cope with Hong Kong.

To bid, an owner must hold a valid import permit for a Privately Purchased horse, a Privately Purchased Griffin, a replacement permit, or be listed on the relevant reserve, tender or auction lists. Once that opportunity has been secured, the purchase carries considerable weight.

Boomer Bloodstock’s Craig Rounsefell said the permit system, and the difficulty of sourcing the right horse privately, gave the club sale an important place in the ownership landscape.

“Members of the club who are wanting to get a permit to import a horse go into a ballot,” Rounsefell said.

“Of the people who apply, a portion are successful and then they have a time frame to find a horse for that permit or they lose the permit.

“It’s a system that works and it’s been fine-tuned over the years.

“The sale is put on by the club to give owners who might not have the opportunity or connections to source horses from around the world. We select horses that fit the profile for horses who will do well here in Hong Kong, and the club has very stringent vetting to protect the owners.”

Buyers also agree to pay an additional HK$100,000, approximately AU$18,500, as a contribution towards the retired racehorse programme. It is a practical addition to the payment terms, and another reminder that in Hong Kong the purchase sits inside a broader ownership structure.

Hong Kong wants speed, soundness and constitution

Hong Kong is a specialist buying assignment. Horses need speed, but not in the narrow sense of early-season precocity. They need enough tactical speed to hold a position in fast-run races, enough physical strength to handle firm ground, enough temperament to adapt to a city-based training environment, and enough durability to give owners several seasons of racing.

“The thing to bear in mind with Hong Kong is that it’s very speed favouring from the moment the gates open,” Rounsefell said.

“They are going flat out, so you need horses to have speed to compete. The surfaces here are very firm, so you want horses who are structurally going to be very sound. Those are the two things that matter, speed and soundness.”

Very few horses race at two in Hong Kong, and many owners are ultimately looking towards the 4-Year-Old Series, culminating in the Hong Kong Derby. That changes the selection process. A horse with speed, scope and the constitution to train on may be more appealing than a sharper type bred to show everything early.

“They don’t really have sit back and finish horses here, they’re going flat out from the moment the gates open till they cross the finishing line,” Rounsefell said.

“You can see from the times they run here that you need a horse that is based on speed generally.

“It comes from the pedigrees too, focusing on stallions who have done well here, whose stock go on firm ground and female lines that have speed in them.”

Among the 16 horses catalogued are progeny of stallions with established Hong Kong relevance, including Deep Field, Toronado (Ire), Per Incanto (USA) and Written Tycoon, as well as stock by Savabeel, Mehmas (Ire), Dundeel (NZ), Starspangledbanner and I Am Invincible.

“We steer away from the more precocious stallions when doing yearling selections,” Rounsefell said.

“We also look at families that improve with age and have a bit more durability about them.”

Durability has a commercial value in Hong Kong that can be underestimated from outside the system. Permits are difficult to secure, importing and racing a horse is expensive, and owners want the opportunity to last.

“The trainers in Hong Kong, and the owners, they want horses that they’re going to race for a long time,” Rounsefell said.

“It’s an expensive exercise bringing horses into Hong Kong, so owners want horses who will be racing for multiple seasons. It’s more cost-effective and they get long-term enjoyment.

“It’s not that easy to get a permit, so once they do, they want to make sure the horse they’re buying for that permit is one they will get a lot of enjoyment out of, and that comes back to the selection process and getting a horse who is sound. There’s a lot of vetting and safety checks that you have to go through to get into Hong Kong to try and safeguard against unsoundness.”

“It’s vitally important, the temperament, because you can have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t have temperament, it doesn’t matter. At the yearling sales, you really have to take note of the temperaments and if there’s any kinks showing up, no matter how much you like the horse, you need to steer away from those ones, because chances are they are not going to be the right horse for here.”

Donovan drawn to two juveniles

There are two 2-year-olds in the sale, with the balance of the catalogue made up of 3-year-olds. Donovan said the younger pair had made an impression.

“There’s some awesome horses here. There’s a couple of 2-year-olds that really took my eye, to be honest with you. They’re very exciting,” Donovan said.

Lot 19 is a 2-year-old gelding by I Am Invincible out of Group 3-placed Palazzo Vecchio (Fastnet Rock), from the family of Naturalism.

The final lot through the ring, Lot 22, is the other 2-year-old. The Toronado (Ire) gelding is the first foal of four-time winner Write The Score (Written Tycoon), from the family of Group 1-winning sprinters Microphone, Yell (Anabaa {USA}) and Holler (Commands).

The fastest horse to breeze was Lot 4, a 3-year-old gelding by Savabeel out of Simply You (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}), who stopped the clock at 10.91 seconds. He is a brother to dual Group 2 winner and G1 Rosehill Guineas-placed Forgot You (NZ).

Gallery: Lots that made an impression to Clint Donovan, images courtesy of The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Visit to Conghua impresses

Conghua was first established by the HKJC as an equestrian facility for the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games and has since developed into a 150-hectare training and racing operation. From October 2026, it will join the racing calendar under the club’s ‘Two Cities, Three Racecourses’ framework.

The races staged there will not carry wagering, placing the emphasis on Conghua’s role in showcasing racing, supporting education and giving the club a second racing environment away from Sha Tin.

HKJC chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges told thestandard.com.hk this week that Conghua fulfils a strategic function in the development of Hong Kong racing. For Rounsefell and Donovan, who visited the facility this week while in Hong Kong for Friday night’s International Sale, the scale of the site was only part of the impression it left.

“We went up to Conghua earlier this week. You have to cross the border into mainland China, then it’s about a three-hour drive from Sha Tin itself. It’s in an agricultural area and it’s quite incredible what the club has built,” Rounsefell said.

“I’ve seen plenty of facilities around the world and I’ve never seen anything like what they’ve done here. It’s the best of the best, everything you can imagine but done to the highest standard.

“The facilities are just phenomenal. The tracks, all the rehabilitation with pools and spas and water treadmills. It’s such a calm setting there too. It’s in the forest with a small town nearby. It’s far exceeded my expectations.”

Sha Tin remains one of the world’s great racecourses, but Hong Kong’s racing model asks a lot of horses. They are trained in a city environment, compete on firm ground and race in a jurisdiction where speed and pressure come early. Conghua gives trainers another setting in which to manage them, particularly horses who benefit from more space, quieter work, rehabilitation or a change of routine.

“Speaking to a lot of trainers here, they love the facility for their horses,” Rounsefell said.

“The horses thrive there and it really complements Sha Tin nicely. It has been a huge asset since it opened in 2018. Having paddocks and different options helps trainers in being able to freshen horses up, and gives them more tools at their disposal.

“It can’t be underestimated either in helping horses with injury recovery. All their different little ailments and getting them to perform at their best when they return back to Sha Tin.”

Gallery: Conghua Training Centre, images courtesy of The Hong Kong Jockey Club

The appeal to trainers is easy to understand. A horse who needs a change of scene, more space, rehabilitation or simply a less pressured environment can be managed without leaving the broader HKJC system. In a jurisdiction where owner expectation is high and racing opportunities are valuable, that flexibility has commercial as well as welfare significance.

For Rounsefell, the visit to Conghua was as much about people as horses. The farrier school, trackwork rider training and broader staff pathways stood out in a week built around Friday night’s sale.

“They are safeguarding for the future,” he said.

“There’s a huge farrier school where they’re training up the future farriers. They’re training trackwork riders. There’s so much forward thinking to ensure all these essential workers are being trained properly and, combined with the facilities, it’s quite incredible.

“The club is training people, so there is a career path, but they are also making sure they are trained correctly for when they do step into the system, as a farrier, or trackwork rider, or groom.

“They’ve all been taught the right way to do everything. It’s setting up a future where you aren’t scrambling to find staff. You’re bringing them through. Safety is paramount too.

“Everything the club does is to a higher standard. There are no shortcuts taken anywhere. It shows amazing foresight.”

The workforce point is familiar in Australia and New Zealand, where trainers and farms continue to compete for trackwork riders, farriers, stable staff and experienced horse people. Hong Kong has the benefit of central control and significant funding, but Conghua shows the value of training those roles deliberately before the shortage becomes acute.

Donovan was similarly struck by the way the facility combines infrastructure with staff development.

“You can’t describe it, nor does a photo do it justice. Honestly, I sell horse farms for a living, and it is the most magnificent facility I’ve ever seen. The infrastructure they’ve put in, the civil engineering required, it’s just mind-boggling,” Donovan said.

“It really blew me away. It’s a wonderful legacy piece for Winfried to have built such a magnificent facility. It’s humming too, it’s full of horses and they’re training people too.

“The Hong Kong Jockey Club have it absolutely right. People are key in this industry and they nurture them into equine professionals. It’s world-class, and it’s a real credit to everyone involved. They’ve joined the dots, and they’ve created the pathway for people to go in all different directions in the horse world.”

The same planning runs through other parts of the Hong Kong model. Horses are selected for a specific racing environment, owners must hold a permit to buy, veterinary standards are tight, a retirement contribution is built into the sale terms, and Conghua now gives the club more ways to support horses and develop staff once those horses enter the system.

Friday night’s International Sale is the most visible part of the week, but the Conghua visit gave Rounsefell and Donovan a closer look at the framework sitting around it.