The Coolmore juggernaut will roll relentlessly on and into Hong Kong next month when its redoubtable trainer Aidan O’Brien is set to saddle contenders for the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase, LONGINES Hong Kong Cup and LONGINES Hong Kong Mile at Sha Tin.

Trainer of 39 Classic winners in Britain and 44 in his native Ireland, O’Brien is a regular visitor to the international fixture and, after saddling Mogul to give him a third LONGINES Hong Kong Vase triumph in the first COVID year of 2020, he will reload for that contest with Stone Age, while Bolshoi Ballet looks to take part in the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup, and Order Of Australia in the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile.

The LONGINES Hong Kong Vase has proved the most frequent port of call for Coolmore runners each December, with Epsom Derby hero Anthony Van Dyck having also contested the race, but running unplaced behind Glory Vase in 2019.

It’s always been part of the Coolmore strategy to target the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races, with the fixture often attracting horses that have represented O’Brien at the Breeders’ Cup. That is again the case in 2022, as Stone Age and Order Of Australia were in action at the Keeneland edition last week.

The LONGINES Hong Kong Cup, widely regarded as the blue riband of the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races, has seen O’Brien go close in recent years with Magic Wand, who finished second to Win Bright in 2019 and Magical, third to Normcore in 2020.

Stone Age had experienced a fruitless spell that started with a sixth placing in the Epsom Derby, before staging a revival to chase home Rebel’s Romance in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland, while Bolshoi Ballet’s run at Lingfield on Saturday (12 November) was his first since finishing ninth behind Loves Only You in the 2021 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup.

O’Brien, who poached the LONGINES Hong Kong Vases of 2015 and 2017 with global traveller par excellence Highland Reel said: “I was delighted with Stone Age who had a good position throughout at Keeneland, stayed on well and looks the right type for Sha Tin.

“Bolshoi Ballet has had a couple of racecourse gallops. He had a setback, which is the reason he’s been off, and the race will do him good.”

Connections are keen to find out how much ability the four-year-old has retained before finding a job for him as a stallion. He’s been in full training since the middle of summer, but will carry condition and improve for his run.

The horse that started favourite for the 2021 Epsom Derby finished fourth in the Churchill Stakes at Lingfield Park on Saturday, 12 November, and if showing no ill effects for that outing could line up upon the Cup.

When looking back at his top money earners O’Brien exudes a fond affection for Highland Reel who set the ball rolling for him at Sha Tin and raced in Ireland, England, France, Australia, Dubai and the United States as well as in Hong Kong.

O’Brien’s team is completed by Order Of Australia, who ran well to finish sixth to Golden Sixty in the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile two years ago, and will return for a second crack at the race after finishing sixth when trying to repeat his 2020 success in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

Of Order Of Australia O’Brien said: “It’s always been our plan to take Order Of Australia back to Sha Tin. He pleased me by staying on well at Keeneland in one of the hottest races and most difficult to win.”