Hong Kong 2025
- William Hopkins
- Dec 17, 2025
- 7 min read
As someone who has never travelled to east asia, I departed London Heathrow on Sunday evening with a fair amount of trepidation. How wrong I was, from start to finish the trip couldn't have been more enjoyable. From the cleanliness and efficiency of the public transport through to the spectacular racing culture of one of the world’s finest destinations, Hong Kong.
I arrived at Hong Kong International late on Monday afternoon and following advice from the team, flicked my phone over onto my e-sim, and boarded the airport express train, which had me in the heart of Hong Kong in no time at all but for a fraction of the price of a taxi. After checking into the 5* Hari Hotel and freshening up, I met up with my more experienced hosts to explore the surrounding area and sample some of the local delicacies, many of which have to be seen to be believed.
The following day, as the Racing Breaks guests were not due to arrive until the afternoon, we decided to catch the ferry across to Lamma Island. The ferry only cost a few dollars and allowed for excellent views of both sides of HK. The island itself is completely car free and allows for superb hiking as well as excellent fresh seafood restaurants in a picturesque setting - well worth a visit.
We hosted welcome drinks for our tour guests at The Hari in the early evening. This year there were 8 of us Brits and due to the popularity of the racing, we soon realised this was a popular trip for Australian racing enthusiasts - bad news for a sports fanatic like me. Indeed, it took fewer than 3 seconds of my welcome speech before a heckle of “how’s the cricket going, champion” was pitched across the room. However, the group was all great fun despite the occasional “pom” sledge. A few Tsingtao’s; pronounced Ching-Tao (I think) at the hotel to get to know each other better prior to a group dinner in Alto, a 30th floor restaurant with views of Happy Valley racecourse to really whet the appetite for the week ahead. The group enjoyed, what will become a common theme of the trip, phenomenal food and copious amounts of excellent wine to wash it down.
The following morning we had our guided tour of Hong Kong. Our guide was a local named Joanna, who was not only super informative but also brilliant fun. We started by boarding the tram up to Victoria Peak which was not only a great ride but also offered spectacular panoramic views of Hong Kong Island and beyond. We then travelled down to Aberdeen for a traditional Sampan boat ride around one of the most affluent areas of the island and concluded with a local Dim Sum lunch back in Causeway Bay. Then it was back to the hotel for a quick run along the harbour prior to heading off to Happy Valley for the first of the week’s racing events.
Happy Valley is one of the most unbelievable racing settings you can imagine. Surrounded by skyscrapers, racing takes place most Wednesday nights. Today’s event was the Longines International Jockey’s Challenge in which 12 of the world’s top jockeys fight it out for the right to be called the best. To get my own back on the Aussies, I pushed hard on the angle that the UK jockeys are simply superior to theirs and luckily it couldn’t have worked out better. William Buick rode the opening winner while Ryan Moore rode 2 more (including a 28/1 winner) to take the crown and the cheque. Happy Valley is a lively party racecourse, with music and entertainment between races. There’s even a McDonald’s on track! We were lucky enough to enjoy hospitality in The Millions - inclusive of a fantastic buffet and all of your drinks throughout the day. The restaurant also had an enormous outdoor balcony & bar which provided great views of the racecourse and surrounding city. It really is a bucket-list racecourse!
On Thursday, despite more than a few dusty heads, we were up bright and early to zip across to Sha Tin Racecourse for the exclusive Morning Trackwork. We enjoyed every sort of breakfast imaginable in the company of racing royalty as the sun rose above the surrounding mountains. It was great to see the horses put through their paces in preparation for the big day on Sunday.
All done by 10:30, I decided to explore some of the aforementioned mountains and partake in a hike. Setting off in my running shoes and having forgotten to apply any suncream, it’s fair to say that I had underestimated the scale of the challenge ahead. Still, having trekked, climbed, slid and scaled various sections of the route I made it to the top for some of the most unbelievable views I’ve ever experienced. I’d thoroughly recommend a “hike” in your downtime, just ensure you’re better prepared than I was!
Mercifully, the evening activity we had planned for the group was a harbour boat cruise in a traditional Junko boat. After my active day it was great to sit back, float around the harbour and watch the city come to life.
In a trip full of highlights, Friday’s Carbine Club Luncheon was certainly one of them. Advertised as a three-course lunch followed by a pool party; I was fortunately informed on a morning run that it is one of the smarter elements of the trip, and it would be sensible to wear a suit. Held in the Grand Hyatt, a short walk from our hotel the event was superb from start to finish. I was lucky enough to have a lengthy conversation with David Hayes over an aperitif. It was fascinating to garner insight into his superstar, Ka Ying Rising and the uniquities of training and living in Hong Kong. It transpired that Hayes and KYR’s jockey, Zac Purton were the guest speakers along with a hilarious speech from Nick Luck. Following lunch we headed up to the pool to party away into the evening with more racing luminaries like the Eustace brothers, Harry & Dave.
Saturday can be considered more of a rest day in preparation for the main event. We booked a room in a neighbouring hotel full of big screens to watch the day’s racing coverage from Australia. Hosted by Australia’s Jason “Richo” Richardson, I wasn’t sure it was going to be to the Racing Breaks customers' taste however we all got stuck in and there were plenty of winners shared around amongst the group. We enjoyed guest appearances from Hong Kong trainer Caspar Fownes and Zac Purton’s wife, Nicole. However, the highlight was having Umberto Rispoli and his father-in-law, none other than Gerald Mosse, tell some brilliant tales about their lives in and out of the saddle. The evening kicked on and ended up in a rooftop bar overlooking the harbour.
Sunday meant the big raceday was finally here and I can safely say it was a completely different experience to any other raceday I have been to. We set off from the hotel at 10:30 to get to the racecourse in good time. Arriving at the main entrance, every ticket holder receives a complimentary cap on entry whilst hospitality guests receive a gift voucher they can exchange for a branded HKIR tote bag containing a jacket (in your size), an additional cap and a horse plushie (a small furry toy that residents seem to hang from handbags/rucksacks etc). Having collected our merchandise, we headed into the newly renovated Champion Circle restaurant. The restaurant is in a prime location on the 3rd floor of the grandstand with a terraced balcony on either side providing unrivalled views of the finishing straight as well as a panoramic view of the parade ring; this was important as even an hour and a half before the first race every seat was taken below! We enjoyed an international buffet from a variety of different stations; you could have as many oysters, lobsters, slices of beef and ham as you liked which was all delicious and of course you never had an empty glass. Now, onto the racing. The betting scene in HK is fascinating. Rather than in the UK where punters mostly bet straight win or each way, there it is all about betting into the exotic pools to try and win the big jackpots. The most popular of which is called the “Triple Trio” in which there was an estimated jackpot of 18million HKD (£1.8 million). All you have to do is select the first 3 in the 4th, 5th & 6th race - easy right.
As it was, continuing Wednesday night’s strategy of simply backing UK based jockeys wasn’t so fruitful and the Aussies came to the fore. Nevertheless, it was a real privilege to see the superstars, Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior live up to expectations and blow away their rivals. The only detraction came when a protester ran onto the track to try and interrupt The Mile race. Fortunately, quick thinking from the starter and a few of the stalls' handlers reacted in time to intercept him and allow for the race’s completion.
The tour concluded the following day, so after saying my goodbye’s to the group and taking a few more pelters about the cricket…I packed my bags. As my flight wasn’t until 22:45, I had plenty of time to kill. Accordingly, I caught the metro to Kowloon to learn more about Hong Kong’s tumultuous history. I visited the Buddhist Chi Lin Nunnery & zen Nan Lian garden as well as the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple. I then strolled down to the Kowloon Walled City Park, where I learnt the fascinating history of how a former lawless garrison became one of the most densely populated places in the world to what is now, arguably the city’s most peaceful spot.
Reflecting on the trip, I would say that if you’ve never been to Hong Kong, it’s thoroughly worth the visit both from a cultural and experiential point of view as well of course to watch some of the best racing to be found anywhere on the planet. I couldn’t recommend the trip enough.
