Promoted to Group 1 status in 2016, the Chairman's Sprint Prize brings together the best sprinters from Hong Kong and abroad for a memorable late-season clash, complementing the FWD Champions Mile and the FWD QEII Cup, for the FWD Champions Day in April.

The race has been run since Sha Tin was first opened in the 1978/79 season – first as the Hong Kong Sprint Championship, then as the Chairman's Prize before adopting its familiar moniker in 2001 – and is a target for Hong Kong's finest speedsters over the years, with notable winners including Fairy King Prawn (1999 & 2001), Silent Witness (2004 & 2005), Sacred Kingdom (2008 & 2010) and Lucky Nine (2013 & 2014).

In 2016, the Chairman's Sprint Prize was opened to international competition for the first time. In a memorable finish, Australian grey Chautauqua stormed home from last to beat Hong Kong's Lucky Bubbles in a perfect demonstration of the contest's global stature. Home runners have won the last six renewals, including Wellington for trainer Richard Gibson in both 2021 and 2022.

The prize money of the six furlong contest will be further increased to HK$20 million in 2022. The race was ranked equal 100th in the IFHA World’s Top 100 G1s in 2022.

Wellington
lands the Chairman’s Sprint Prize 2022