John Quinn confident Highfield Princess can adapt to become Hong Kong Sprint's first British winner

It is a race local horses have dominated by winning all but six of the 23 runnings since 1999 and in that time the likes of Robin Bastiman’s Wetherby-trained Borderlescott, Sole Power, Society Rock and Bated Breath have tried and failed for Great Britain. The most recent British runner, Sir Dancealot, finished last in 2018.

But confidence is high that Quinn’s four-time Group One-winning sprinter can add another top level race to her CV.

A golden spell last autumn saw her win three Group Ones in five weeks – the Prix de Maurice de Gheest (1300m) in France, York’s Nunthorpe Stakes and the Flying Five at the Curragh.

She ended last season with a respectable fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland, and Quinn believes choosing not to travel to that meeting this year will pay off on his first visit to the Longines Hong Kong International Races.

“It was a difficult decision but we purposely skipped it in the hope we could give her the best chance to get to Hong Kong in top form,” Quinn said of his star, who arrived at Sha Tin last Saturday.

“She had a hard race last time but she had a very easy week afterwards and she’s a big mare, so she doesn’t need too much time to recover between races. We were always thinking this year was going to be a lighter campaign. Her first run was in May and she turned up at every big gig all year and ran brilliantly.”

She finished second and third in King’s Stand at Royal Ascot and Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes a few days later, while her first win of the season came in the King George Stakes at Glorious Goodwood in August.

The same month, she came within a length of becoming a consecutive winner of the Nunthorpe, and while an awkward start put paid to her chance of back-to-back successes in the Flying Five, she still persevered to finish fifth.

She finally got her head in front again with a brave success in the Group One Prix de l’Abbaye three weeks later, which came on good to soft ground, but Quinn believes the conditions at Sha Tin will play more to her strengths.

“If you look in the form book you’ll have to say her best form is on fast ground,” he said. “She ran two wonderful races at Royal Ascot four days apart on quick going, and the ground when she won the Prix Maurice de Gheest was much quicker than the official description.

“I’ve been looking at racing from Sha Tin and it looks a beautifully manicured track.”

The trainer is also confident Highfield Princess can adapt to however the race will be run, with today’s official draw set to inform plans for jockey Jason Hart.

“During the race we’ll let her go forward and find her feet,” Quinn said. “She’s shown she doesn’t have to make the running, she’s very amenable and she can be ridden anywhere.”