Year 2010 is just coming to an end. On this final day of the year, I think it would be nice to take the opportunity of recalling a few memorable moments of the past 12 months.
Business-wise, it has been quite a successful year for the Club, as the addition of five extra race meetings and 15 overseas simulcast days has enabled our racing operations to maintain robust growth and development, as well as helping us keep up the fight against illegal and unauthorised offshore betting operators.
A number of our top horses have achieved international successes on home turf or in major overseas races. I would pick out Ultra Fantasy’s Sprinters Stakes victory in Japan in October as the highlight, as the all-local partnership of trainer Ricky Yiu and jockey Alex Lai made this a landmark success for Hong Kong, and a moment to treasure for our all home-grown horsemen and local racing fans.
In November, Mainland China was able to stage its first-ever international equine competition on home soil, the equestrian events of the Guangzhou Asian Games, thanks to the Club's support building the equestrian venues at Conghua and helping to establish a pioneering Specific Equine Disease-Free Zone there - something that will have great significance for the future development of equine sports on the Mainland. The Asian Games legacy and the spirit of co-operation between Hong Kong and Mainland authorities will also be continued with the conversion of this facility to our new Conghua Horse Training Centre over the next three years.
Another notable memory from this event was Hong Kong's success in gaining its first-ever equestrian medals at an Asian Games, a bronze in the team jumping event. All four team members were Club-sponsored riders, which showed that our investment in developing equestrian sports in Hong Kong has been well worthwhile.
The Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup raceday and Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races were both very successful again this year, with the latter attracting some of the strongest overseas fields to date and producing a truly international roll of winners. The success of these events has helped further enhance Hong Kong's high standing in world racing. On top of our six existing International Group 1 events, we gained International Group 2 status for the Cathay Pacific Jockey Club Mile, Sprint and Cup races for the first time.
Also very important, though perhaps less well known, is the Club’s organisational transformation programme called Connect – which we launched in the summer and signaled our determination to establish a truly customer-centric culture. By implementing various strategic programmes, we hope to connect more closely among different departments within the Club through collaboration and teamwork, as well as with our customers and the wider Hong Kong community.
Despite these positive achievements, none of us in the Club would want to be complacent. There are quite a few issues that I think we need to continue working on diligently in the year ahead.
In my view, pressing the Government for a review of the taxation structure on racing remains the most crucial issue of all. Only by adjusting race betting taxes to the more competitive levels of other jurisdictions can we stem the continued outflow of local betting dollars to illegal and offshore operators.
Also important is early action by the Government to facilitate international commingling, so that Hong Kong does not get left behind and marginalised by this fast-growing global trend. Changes in these two areas are vital for the long-term sustainability and development of horse racing in Hong Kong, and the Club's continued contributions to the public coffer and local community.
While we have achieved some promising growth in betting turnover, we still need to maintain our efforts to reach out to new customer groups and nurture a new generation of racing fans. We will also continue our drive to attract top horses to Hong Kong and develop home-grown riding talent, so as to sustain the vibrancy and excitement of our racing product and help make it a unique sporting and social experience.
Despite the growth in turnover, racecourse attendances have shown some signs of decline over the past year. That may indicate that more people are betting without coming to the racecourse, which to me seems odd as I've always felt that only by watching horse racing live from the grandstands can you capture the full excitement and atmosphere of the sport. I would welcome you all to share your thoughts and suggestions with us on how we can do more to attract people to come and watch racing live.
As always, the Club will continue to put great importance on its charitable role in the coming year, and its long-standing mission of improving the quality of life for Hong Kong people, particularly the underprivileged and the needy. One continued area of focus will be investments in higher education, as we believe that nurturing young talent can bring many long-term benefits to the community.
I look forward to another busy and exciting year in 2011 and hope it proves a healthy and prosperous one for all of you. What better way to get the New Year off to a great start than some exciting racing action? Tomorrow at Sha Tin our first race meeting of 2011 will also be the first 11-race programme we have arranged this season. Several of these races look like being quite competitive, particularly in the Hong Kong Group 3 Chinese Club Challenge Cup Handicap.
This race is in fact a fantastic challenge and it is great to see some of our Rising Stars stepping out for the New Year. The pace is expected to be very fast which will likely give horses running from off the pace a better chance. Our Lucky Baby from gate 3 and Multiglory from 13 should go forward, plus pressure from Aashiq and Blaze King, will ensure the pace on the fast side. I like the performance from Multiglory stepping up to 1400m the first time and winning last time. The draw and pace will make it more difficult for him to win again, but I still believe he has a nice place chance. High Point is in great form and the pace should give him a chance to settle at the back, and he has a good chance to finish close too. Rising Star Let Me Fight, who is in terrific form with his fourth place finish in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint, will be my top selection in this race and I think the additional distance should not be an issue for him. Little Bridge is in question of staying the distance but is working well and I would not leave him out, as well as Young Elite who will benefit from the fast pace.
In the last race of the day, the Tai Mo Shan Handicap, the pace is expected to be slow which will help horses positioned in the front, such as Soaring Dragon, Interchina Star and Mark Up. Other runners like Enhanced, California Memory as well as Xtension should be well placed. I would favour the chance of Xtension more as he is a top class miler and had a good Hong Kong debut when fourth in 1400m last time. I think he will be difficult to beat. Although Enhanced remains to be unproven at the mile, he should also be in the finish, as well as California Memory and Happy Valley performer Mark Up.
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