Dennis Yip will take his Hong Kong training career into new territory next month when Fast Network begins an ambitious two-race campaign in Japan, starting with the G2 Centaur Stakes at Hanshin on September 6 before a return to the highest level in the G1 Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama three weeks later.
Fast Network Japan Debut
The Fast Network Japan debut will mark the first time Yip has saddled a runner outside Hong Kong, Conghua or Macau in his own right, adding another chapter to a training career that has already included a Hong Kong championship and major success on the international stage.
Fast Network, a seven-time winner from 20 starts, has steadily developed into one of the more accomplished sprinters in Yip’s stable. The six-year-old has twice finished at Group 1 level behind the outstanding Ka Ying Rising, and that form will now be put to the test against Japan’s established sprinting talent.
Yip had initially considered taking Fast Network to Dubai for a run down Meydan’s long straight course, an option that carried particular appeal given the success enjoyed by Hong Kong-trained horses there in previous seasons. Uncertainty in the Middle East forced a change of plan, however, and Japan emerged as the more suitable destination.
The opening assignment will be the 1200-metre Centaur Stakes at Hanshin, where Fast Network will become only the third Hong Kong-trained runner to contest the race. Green Birdie finished second in 2010 before returning for another attempt the following year, while Lucky Nine also filled the runner-up position in 2011.
Fast Network’s preparation has been shaped around the demands of an overseas campaign. After a demanding previous season, Yip gave the horse an earlier break and used Conghua as the main base for his return. The gelding then produced an encouraging fourth in a recent barrier trial before travelling to Japan on Tuesday, August 25.
His most recent race came in April, when he finished fourth behind Ka Ying Rising in the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize over 1200 metres at Sha Tin. Yip chose not to push him into possible Group 3 engagements during May and June, instead concentrating on recovery and building towards the longer-term Japanese objective.
The Fast Network Japan debut therefore comes after a deliberate preparation rather than a rushed overseas venture. The Centaur Stakes will provide the first measure of his readiness before the stable makes the bigger decision to head directly towards the Sprinters Stakes.
The Nakayama feature on September 27 will carry considerably greater significance. Fast Network will face another demanding 1200-metre test against leading Japanese sprinters, with the race offering Yip the chance to measure his charge against a completely different racing environment.
Hong Kong has a strong history in the Sprinters Stakes. Silent Witness won the race in 2005, while Ultra Fantasy became the second Hong Kong-trained winner five years later. Across 17 previous attempts, however, success has remained difficult to reproduce, underlining the scale of the challenge facing Fast Network.
The most recent Hong Kong representative was Lucky Sweynesse, who finished 11th in the 2025 renewal behind Win Carnelian.
For Yip, the Japanese trip also has a personal connection with an earlier stage of his career. Before taking out his own training licence, he worked as an assistant to five-time champion trainer Brian Kan and travelled to Tokyo with Red Pepper for the 2002 G1 Yasuda Kinen. Yip partnered the horse in trackwork during that visit, giving him an early introduction to Japanese racing.
His own career has since taken him to the top of Hong Kong training, including the 2012/13 trainers’ championship and a major Derby success with Massive Sovereign in 2024.
Another Hong Kong-trained runner will also make an overseas appearance in September, with jockey Dylan Mo heading to South Korea to partner Self Improvement in the G3 Korea Sprint over 1200 metres on sand on September 6.
Self Improvement returns to the race after winning the previous renewal for trainer Manfred Man and jockey Jerry Chau. That victory made the horse only the second Hong Kong-trained winner of the Korea Sprint, following Super Jockey’s success in 2016.
Beauty Waves and Gorgeous Win will also represent Hong Kong in the Korea Sprint, while Romantic Thor has been withdrawn from the G2 Korea Cup over 1800 metres.
Mo has ridden Self Improvement regularly in recent trackwork and will now take that partnership into international competition. Although he has already ridden in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Singapore, this will be his first overseas assignment with a Hong Kong-trained runner.
The Seoul dirt surface presents a different challenge from Sha Tin. Hong Kong’s trio have experience racing on dirt at home, but the sand surface in South Korea and the kickback it produces will provide a fresh test. Self Improvement, at least, arrives with valuable experience after securing last year’s Korea Sprint by half a length.
For both Yip and Mo, the September programme represents an opportunity to extend Hong Kong racing’s presence beyond familiar shores. Fast Network’s campaign carries the larger ambition, with Japan providing two increasingly demanding tests, while Self Improvement returns to a race where a successful formula has already been established.
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