Taking place on 27 April 2025 at Sha Tin Racecourse, the annual FWD Champions Day was hailed by the Club’s Chief Executive Officer as one of the best editions of the flagship meeting “in a very long period of time”. Ka Ying Rising (嘉應高昇), Red Lion (紅運帝王) and Japan’s Tastiera (鍵琴高奏) swept the Group 1 honours respectively in the HK$22 million Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m), HK$24 million FWD Champions Mile (1600m) and the HK$28 million GWD QEII Cup (2000m). Check out the world-class racing highlights below. Caption: K-pop sensation MINNIE of i-dle (photo 1) and renowned Hong Kong singer Joey Yung (photo 2) kick start the day’s festivities as the opening performers Caption: Group photo of HKJC and FWD Insurance senior officials and FWD Champions Day Ambassadors toasting at the FWD Champions Day 2025 Opening Ceremony Caption: The John Size-trained Red Lion (inside) lands his first Group 1 success, winning the FWD Champions Mile (1600m) at Sha Tin Racecourse Caption: Martin Liao, Deputy Chairman of The Hong Kong Jockey Club (first row, second right) presents the FWD Champions Mile trophy to Red Lion’s Owners the Hon Ronald Arculli GBM GBS JP (first row, second left) & Johanna K J Arculli BBS (first row, first left) Caption: Professor Frederick Ma, GBS JP, Chairman of the Board, FWD Group (first row, right) presents souvenirs to Red Lion’s Owner representative Caption: HKJC and FWD Insurance senior officials congratulate Red Lion’s Owner Johanna K J Arculli BBS (fifth left) and representatives (third to fourth left) after the horse’s victory in the FWD Champions Mile Caption: Tastiera, trained by Noriyuki Hori and ridden by Damian Lane, wins the Group 1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m). The win marks the return of the Japanese runner to the winning podium of FWD QEII Cup since 2021 Caption: Ken Lau, Managing Director of Greater China and Hong Kong Chief Executive Officer (first row, left), FWD presents a souvenir to winning jockey Damian Lane (first row, right) Caption: Before the FWD QEII Cup, Paul Tse, Chief Marketing & Digital Officer, FWD Hong Kong & Macau (second left), and renowned Hong Kong artists Alex Fong (first right) and Venus Wong (second right) jointly present a prize at the Parade Ring to the stable representative responsible for Tastiera, the best turned out horse for the FWD QEII Cup Caption: HKJC and FWD Insurance senior officials, alongside with Miura Jun, the Consul-General of Japan in Hong Kong (fourth right) toast to congratulate the Owner representatives of Tastiera Carrot Farm Co Ltd (fourth left and centre) after the horse’s victory in the FWD QEII Cup Caption: The David Hayes-trained Ka Ying Rising wins G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) with Zac Purton in the saddle. Ka Ying Rising becomes the fifth horse in history to win all three legs of Hong Kong’s Speed Series and return a HK$5 million bonus to connections Caption: Chairman of the Club, Michael Lee (first row, right) presents the Chairman’s Sprint Prize trophy to the Ka Ying Rising’s Owner representative Leung Shek Kong of Ka Ying Syndicate (first row, left)