Those who live in the City of Five Rams are in for a sporting treat over the next two weeks as the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games were officially opened last night. I understand that Hong Kong will be sending its largest-ever team to this year’s competition, with 395 local athletes competing in 34 of the 42 official sports.
Among them is a ten-strong equestrian team, also Hong Kong's largest-ever, who will compete in all three disciplines for the first time: jumping, dressage and eventing. It's great to see that all 10 of the Hong Kong riders have some form of association with the Club, having either learnt the sport at one of our riding schools or worked as instructors.
Four of them are also members of our HKJC Equestrian Team or Junior Equestrian Team, whose overseas training and development we've been supporting with HK$50 million sponsorship since 2008. In addition, we gave the Hong Kong Equestrian Federation a HK$2.2 million grant earlier this year to support their preparations for the Games and help them send the strongest team possible.
The equestrian events of the Asian Games will be held at a purpose-built new venue at Conghua, which was designed and constructed by the Club, so it will be especially meaningful if they can earn medals for Hong Kong there. May I wish all the Hong Kong Equestrian Team members the best of luck in the Games.
While the Asian Games will be attracting a lot of attention from local sports fans over the next two weeks, we mustn't forget that our own major horse racing festival of the year, the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races, is only a month away on 12 December.
Making the run-up to these races even more special this year is the fact that November's three traditional preparatory events have been upgraded to International Group 2 status, following endorsement last month by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. They will now be run as the Cathay Pacific Jockey Club Cup, Cathay Pacific Jockey Club Mile, and Cathay Pacific Jockey Club Sprint. This is great news for us as it serves as further recognition from our worldwide peers of the high international standards of our top races in Hong Kong.
Since last season we have opened these three races to participation by overseas runners. By doing so, we hope they can better acclimatise and adapt to Hong Kong’s environment, before they compete with other overseas and local contenders in the main event in December.
This year, Singapore’s sprint sensation Rocket Man will be joining us to take part in the HK$3 million Cathay Pacific Jockey Cup Sprint next Sunday. This five-year-old horse is scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong early tomorrow morning. I know that he’s in good form as he won a trial by 13 lengths at Kranji Racecourse last Tuesday. I will be interested to see how this champion horse shapes up in trackwork at Sha Tin next week, then next Sunday's big race.
Meanwhile, tomorrow at Sha Tin you will have the chance to review some of our best home contenders at the middle distance, as 11 runners will be running in the Cathay Pacific Jockey Club Cup, which marks the start to this year’s Cathay Pacific Hong Kogn International Races. Top-class runners such as Collection and Super Satin will be having their final run-out before the big day, so I look forward to seeing how they perform tomorrow.
In this race, the expected good pace should give every horse a fair chance. Despite strong opposition, I think John Moore has a very good chance to dominate this race with his three horses. With Packing Winner to go forward, Rising Star Mighty Sun – which will be aimed at the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Vase – will likely get an ideal position in the box seat. I think he’s capable to get a place finish in this race. Another Moore’s runner Irian will likely go back from Gate 11. This German 2000 Guineas winner is working well recently and I hope he will come with a strong run for a close finish, too. Collection should be placed perfectly in midfield. Returning to his best distance of 2000m, he will be the horse to beat in this race. Last year’s Derby winner Super Satin is improving. He certainly has the ability to upset Collection, but I think he will be even better after this run. Sean Woods’ King Dancer also made an impressive season debut last time at 1800m. With Gerald Mosse on board, he will also have chance to get a place finish in this Group 2 event.
The Cheung Sha Handicap is a very classy all-weather race, with prominent dirt performer Dynamic Blitz coming to his preferred surface and distance. The expected fast pace should help him to find cover in midfield despite starting from Gate 9 and I think he will produce a strong finish. However, carrying the top weight of 133 pounds in this race, his task will not be easy when competing against other upcoming all-weather race runners such as St Didar and St Fevre, as well as against the Rising Star London China Town, which from his pedigree and track work should handle this track well. Other proven all-weather campaigners like Royal Pericles and True Intelligence are also in great form. In general, I still expect Dynamic Blitz to be the key contender in this race, while True Intelligence, St Didar and St Fevre to be his main oppositions.
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