MICKAEL BARZALONA BACK TO DEFEND HIS TITLE IN THE LONGINES IJC GLOBAL SHOWDOWN UNDER LIGHTS

By Darren Winningham | Monday, December 1, 2025

When the curtain lifts on Hong Kong’s greatest week of racing next week, the spotlight will firstly turn to the Happy Valley Racecourse for the 2025 LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) — an electric four-race contest where reputations are forged and global stars collide.

Happy Valley, framed by towering skyscrapers and pulsing with city life, transforms into one of world racing’s most atmospheric arenas.

On this night, only one jockey will be crowned champion — and with HK$1 million in prize bonuses on the line, every tactical decision counts.

Mickael Barzalona, representing France, will return to defend his 2024 IJC title.

Barzalona has been a consistent presence in the LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship since his debut in 2016.

Over the years, he has steadily built a strong record, highlighted by his dead-heat for second in 2021 during a fiercely contested edition. He returned in 2023 to finish sixth, and finally reached the summit last year, when he captured the 2024 LONGINES IJC title in brilliant fashion.

His journey has been one of progression — from contender to champion — and he now arrives in 2025 as the defending titleholder.

Barzalona enters the 2025 IJC as not only the defending Champion, but as one of the world’s most in-form riders who is a master tactician under pressure.

If he can secure the title again in 2025, Barzalona will join truly elite company as a back-to-back winner of the LONGINES IJC — a feat rarely achieved in Hong Kong’s rich racing history.

Only two jockeys have ever done it before: Ryan Moore in 2009 & 2010, and Zac Purton in 2020 & 2021.

A consecutive victory would place Barzalona alongside these giants of the sport and further cement his standing as one of the world’s premier big-race riders.

Barzalona is no stranger to Hong Kong pressure — and his ice-cool race craft will make him a massive danger again in 2025.

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