This year, four 4-year-old Japan-based horses have traveled to Hong Kong to take on the International Races at Sha Tin Racecourse on Dec. 11. Three of the participants – Apapane, Pas de Trois and Curren Chan -- arrived in Hong Kong together on Thursday, Dec. 1. Trailblazer arrived later, in the early hours of Sunday, Dec. 4.

The Hong Kong International Races, a race meeting that has gained a reputation as the Turf World Championships, is established as one of the most important international racing fixtures. The 25th edition of the premier Hong Kong sporting event is comprised of four top-level events on turf – the Hong Kong Cup, Mile, Sprint and Vase -- and is worth a combined HK$68 million (approx. US$8.7 million).

Apapane will take on the Hong Kong Mile, with Pas de Trois and Curren Chan set for the Hong Kong Sprint over 1,200 meters. Trailblazer is to run in the 2,400-meter Hong Kong Vase.

Since 2001 and Japan's near sweep of all four of the International Races (Stay Gold in the Vase, Eishin Preston in the Mile, Agnes Digital in the Cup), the last several years have been winless for Japan-based runners in Hong Kong. Hat Trick was the most recent victor from Japan, in 2005. Last year, A Shin Forward finished fourth in the Mile and Jaguar Mail came in fourth in the Vase. Apapane Apapane: This filly by King Kamehameha, is currently one of not only the most popular female horses in Japan, but one of the most popular overall. Named after the small bird native to the forests of Hawaii, the filly has proven to be a versatile racehorse. In 2010, Apapane became the third horse to complete the Triple Crown for three-year-old fillies when she swept the G1 Oka Sho, the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) and the G1 Shuka Sho. Trainer Sakae Kunieda and regular rider Masayoshi Ebina both see the mile as the best trip for Apapane. It's widely acknowledged that Apapane's best performance was her winning showdown with Buena Vista in the G1 Victoria Mile this May at Tokyo Racecourse. Her back-to-back thirds in the 2,200-meter Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup, coupled with her win of the Victoria Mile this year, have helped recently to establish the image of Apapane as a miler and taken the spotlight off her considerably at longer distances. Kunieda reports that Apapane came out well from the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup, where she finished third to Snow Fairy and has been training according to plan for the Hong Kong Mile.

Trailblazer: The son of Zenno Rob Roy is trained by Yasutoshi Ikee, one of the hottest trainers in Japan at the moment with a Triple Crown win this year by Orfevre, a win of the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) by Tosen Jordan and Trailblazer's victory in the G2 Copa Republica Argentina. Trailblazer has won five of his 17 starts and ran fourth in the Japan Cup last time out. The colt has had a variety of riders and his wins have come all with different jockeys. Katsumi Ando rode him to his win of the Copa Republica Argentina, Yutaka Take had the ride in the Japan Cup.

Pas de Trois: The Shadai-bred, Teruya Yoshida-owned Pas de Trois is by Swept Overboard, out of the Fuji Kiseki mare Grand Pas de Deux. A consistent runner finishing out of the money only four times in his 16 career starts, Pas de Trois has accumulated six wins, two seconds and four thirds. Though he has yet to win a graded race, he has come close, his best being his last time out with a second in the Sprinters Stakes (G1), run to the right like the Hong Kong Sprint. Veteran jockey Katsumi Ando has ridden the colt for five of his wins and was paired with him in the Sprinters Stakes.

Curren Chan: All horses owned by Takashi Suzuki, a 49-year-old ophthalmologist, include "Curren" in their name. Curren is the name of Suzuki's daughter and the name with the diminutive term of endearment "chan" added was reserved for Suzuki's favorite filly. Curren Chan, a daughter of Kurofune out of the Tony Bin mare Spring Ticket, has proven herself well worthy of her special name, having won four graded races, including the G3 Hanshin Himba Stakes and the G1 Sprinters Stakes. She is currently on a five-way winning streak, capped by the Sprinters Stakes last time out. She has won all but one of her races this year, her first in January, a race that saw Curren Chan back on the track after a layoff of over six months. The Shadai-bred Curren Chan has, in fact, only finished out of the money once in her entire career. She has notched eight wins, two seconds and a third in her 12 races thus far. All but two of her starts were over 1,200 meters.