The Queen Elizabeth II Cup is a Group One

Group One

Group One or Group 1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. Group One races may be run under handicap conditions in Australia but in Europe weight-for-age conditions always apply. Races may be also restricted to age groups or a...

 Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...

 at Sha Tin Racecourse

Sha Tin Racecourse

Sha Tin Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for horse racing in Hong Kong. It is located in Sha Tin in the New Territories. It is managed by Hong Kong Jockey Club.Penfold Park is encircled by the track.-History:...

 in the New Territories

New Territories

New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory. Historically, it is the region described in The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory...

, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. Established in 1975 by the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, it is run annually in April at a distance of 2,000 metres (ten furlong

Furlong

A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....

s) on turf

Grass

Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

. Prior to 1997 it was run at 2,200 metres (eleven furlongs). Sponsored by renowned Swiss Watchmaker Audemars Piguet

Audemars Piguet

Audemars Piguet is a manufacturer of prestige Swiss watches which compete with Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin.-Foundation:...

 since 1999, it currently offers a purse of HK

Hong Kong dollar

The Hong Kong dollar is the currency of the jurisdiction. It is the eighth most traded currency in the world. In English, it is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively HK$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

$14 million (US$1.8 million).

The Queen Elizabeth II Cup was first run at the Happy Valley Racecourse

Happy Valley Racecourse

Happy Valley Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for horse racing in Hong Kong. It is located in Happy Valley on Hong Kong Island, surrounded by Wong Nai Chung Road and Morrison Hill Road.-History:...

 in Happy Valley, Hong Kong

Happy Valley, Hong Kong

Happy Valley is a mostly residential suburb of Hong Kong, located in the northern part of Hong Kong Island. Administratively, it is part of Wan Chai District....

 to commemorate a visit to Hong Kong by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip. It evolved to an international event in 1995, with Hong Kong horses competing against those from the United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...

, the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

Since becoming a Group One race in 2001, every winner of the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup has been a descendant of Northern Dancer

Northern Dancer

Northern Dancer was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and the most successful sire of the 20th Century. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association calls him "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history"....

. The 2006 race saw Irridescence upset the great filly

Filly

A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....

 and European Horse of the Year

European Horse of the Year

European Horse of the Year is an award in European Thoroughbred horse racing. Since 1991 the honor has been part of the Cartier Racing Awards. It is presented annually by Cartier SA to a horse of any age racing in Europe.-Honorees:...

, Ouija Board.

Winners since 1995

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
1995	Red Bishop	7	Michael Kinane Michael Kinane Michael J. Kinane is a former flat racing jockey. He had a 34-year career, retiring on 8 December 2009....	Hilal Ibrahim	Ali Saeed	2:17.20
1996	Overbury	5	Frankie Dettori Frankie Dettori Lanfranco "Frankie" Dettori, MBE is an Italian horse racing jockey and celebrity. Dettori has been Champion Jockey on three occasions and has ridden the winners of more than 500 Group races.. He has had many successes in his role of stable jockey to Godolphin Racing...	Saeed bin Suroor Saeed bin Suroor Saeed bin Suroor , is a horse racing trainer. Formerly a policeman, he took out his training license in 1994 and the following year was appointed as the trainer for Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation....	Godolphin	2:14.50
1997	London News	5	Douglas Whyte	Alec Laird	Laurie & Jean Jaffee	2:00.30
1998	Oriental Express	5	Douglas Whyte	Ivan W. Allan	Larry Yung Chi Kin Larry Yung Chi Kin Larry Yung Chi-kin , also often called Rong Zhijian in mainland China, was the chairman of CITIC Pacific, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate. According to Forbes Magazine, he is one of the wealthiest person in mainland China, with a personal net worth of $2.2 billion US dollars as of March, 2007....	2:01.00
1999	Jim And Tonic Jim And Tonic Jim And Tonic is a French Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse and the richest racehorse in the history of horse racing in France....	5	Gerald Mosse Gérald Mossé Gérald Mossé is a jockey in thoroughbred horse racing. He began riding professionally in April 1983 and his success during his apprenticeship under Patrick-Louis Biancone led to an offer to ride for renowned trainer François Boutin and his stable of horses belonging to Jean-Luc Lagardère...	François Doumen François Doumen François Doumen is a French racehorse trainer currently based at Boucé, Orne. From 1956 to 1970 he was an amateur jockey, and he then worked as an assistant trainer to his father Jean. He obtained his own training licence in 1977....	John D. Martin	2:00.10
2000	Industrialist	4	Alan Munro Alan Munro (jockey) Alan Munro is a top English flat racing jockey and considered one of the most successful English jockeys in the history of the sport.He has won many major races including the Epsom Derby and Irish Derby in 1991...	Brian Kan	A. Hu Si Nok & P. Wong Yau Ming	2:02.10
2001	Silvano	5	Andreas Suborics Andreas Suborics Andreas Suborics Andreas Suborics Andreas Suborics (born August 11, 1971 in Vienna, Austria is an Austrian Thoroughbred horse racing jockey who is based in Germany and races worldwide.A three-time champion jockey in Germany, Suborics is best known as the jockey who rode Shirocco in 2004....	Andreas Wöhler	Stiftung Gestüt Fährhof	2:03.10
2002	Eishin Preston Eishin Preston Eishin Preston is an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in Japan and Hong Kong....	5	Yuichi Fukunaga	Shuji Kitahashi	Toyomitsu Hirai	2:02.50
2003	Eishin Preston Eishin Preston Eishin Preston is an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in Japan and Hong Kong....	6	Yuichi Fukunaga	Shuji Kitahashi	Toyomitsu Hirai	2:03.80
2004	River Dancer	5	Glyn Schofield	John Size	Ronald Arculli Ronald Arculli Ronald Joseph Arculli, GBM, GBS, CVO, OBE, JP is chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing and Non-official Members Convenor of the Executive Council of Hong Kong . He is a Hong Kong solicitor and a founding partner of the law firm, Arculli, Fong, & Ng, which later merged with King &...	2:01.40
2005	Vengeance of Rain Vengeance of Rain Vengeance of Rain is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse in Hong Kong that won Dubai Sheema Classic , the joint richest turf race in the world. Vengeance of Rain was foaled in New Zealand, trained by David E...	4	Anthony Delpech Anthony Delpech Anthony Delpech is a Thoroughbred horse racing jockey who competes internationally.Delpech's family moved to Durban, South Africa when he was thirteen years old and it was there that he embarked on a career as a jockey...	David E. Ferraris David E. Ferraris David E. Ferraris is now a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer in Hong Kong.Born into a racing family, his father, Ormond Ferraris, was a champion trainer in South African racing. David Ferraris embarked on his own training career in 1995 and went on to win the South African trainer's title four times...	Chow Nam & R. G. Chow Hon Man	2:01.80
2006	Irridescence	5	Weichong Marwing Weichong Marwing Weichong C. Marwing is a Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Based in South Africa, he has won a number of important international Group One races. He is well remembered for riding Irridescence to victory over the great Ouija Board in the 2006 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong...	Mike de Kock	Team Valor Team Valor Team Valor Stable LLC is an American Thoroughbred horse racing stable based in Versailles, Kentucky. It was founded by Barry Irwin and Jeff Siegel who create partnerships with racing enthusiasts to race Thoroughbred horses at major racing venues, primarily in North America.In early July 2007,...	2:02.00
2007	Viva Pataca Viva Pataca Viva Pataca is a Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by the Dukes of Devonshire and Roxburghe, he was out of the mare Comic and sired by English Group One winner, Marju...	5	Michael Kinane Michael Kinane Michael J. Kinane is a former flat racing jockey. He had a 34-year career, retiring on 8 December 2009....	John Moore	Stanley Ho Hung-Sun Stanley Ho Stanley Ho, GBM, GLM, GBS, GML, OBE , also known as Ho Hung Sun, Stanley Ho Hung Sun, is an entrepreneur in Hong Kong and Macau. Ho is sometimes nicknamed "The King of Gambling", reflecting the government-granted monopoly he held of the Macau gambling industry for 40 years...	2:01.90
2008	Archipenko	4	Kevin Shea	Mike de Kock	Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum	2:00.80
2009	Presvis	5	Ryan Moore	Luca Cumani Luca Cumani Luca M. Cumani is an Italian thoroughbred horse trainer. He has trained at Bedford House Stables in Newmarket, England since 1976...	Leonidas Marinopoulos	2:02.97
2010	Viva Pataca Viva Pataca Viva Pataca is a Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by the Dukes of Devonshire and Roxburghe, he was out of the mare Comic and sired by English Group One winner, Marju...	8	Weichong Marwing Weichong Marwing Weichong C. Marwing is a Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Based in South Africa, he has won a number of important international Group One races. He is well remembered for riding Irridescence to victory over the great Ouija Board in the 2006 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong...	John Moore	Stanley Ho Hung-Sun Stanley Ho Stanley Ho, GBM, GLM, GBS, GML, OBE , also known as Ho Hung Sun, Stanley Ho Hung Sun, is an entrepreneur in Hong Kong and Macau. Ho is sometimes nicknamed "The King of Gambling", reflecting the government-granted monopoly he held of the Macau gambling industry for 40 years...	2:04.97
2011	Ambitious Dragon	4	Douglas Whyte	A.T. Millard	Lam Pui Hung	2:02.23