I'm sure most of our racing fans will know that three Hong Kong-based horses, namely Mighty High and Silver Grecian from John Moore's stable, and Bear Hero from the David Ferraris stable, are currently in Australia to prepare for a series of major races in the spring racing carnival there later this month. The Moore duo have already taken part in some warm-up races, and both have given encouraging performances.
This Saturday afternoon sees Mighty High take on his big target race, the G1 Caulfield Cup. I'm pleased to say that we shall be simulcasting this and two other races from the Caulfield card live to Hong Kong, so you can all give your cheers and betting support to our local runner.
You might be interested to know that in the 12 seasons since Fairy King Prawn gave Hong Kong its first overseas G1 success in Japan's Yasuda Kinen in 2000, we have had 64 Hong Kong-based horses competing in major races overseas, at top tracks ranging from Tokyo and Kranji to Ascot and Flemington. From the 102 overseas races in which these runners have participated, they have garnered 11 wins and 39 second to fourth place finishes.
This represents a win strike rate of over 10 per cent and a first-four strike rate of nearly 50 per cent, which I would say is a fairly remarkable achievement for a racing jurisdiction with a horse population of only 1,200. When they leave Hong Kong to challenge some of the world’s top racehorses on their own turf, you can see how competitive many of our top runners are. This once again shows the international standard of Hong Kong racing, and I hope these three Hong Kong horses will have some encouraging results in their eventual starts this month.
As regards Fairy King Prawn, the horse that first blazed this trail of overseas glory, some of you might remember that we organised a farewell ceremony for him in May this year, ahead of his departure to New Zealand to enjoy a well-deserved retirement. However, torrential rain early that morning, and subsequently the issuing of a rainstorm signal, forced us very reluctantly to call off the event.
As spring has now arrived in New Zealand, the time has come for this much-loved, two-time Horse of the Year to make his move. I can tell you that he left Hong Kong for the green pastures of his new retirement life last Friday.
Since retiring from the racing ranks in 2003, Fairy King Prawn has made his home at our Tuen Mun Public Riding School, where he has enjoyed iconic status among visitors or those learning riding skills there. Our staff at the riding school have grown enormously fond of this champion miler and before his departure, they set up a big greeting card outside his stable, inscribed with their good wishes for the future.
The staff member specifically responsible for taking care of the horse these past seven years is stables assistant at Tuen Mun PRS, Ah Po. You can well understand the deep affection that has developed between them. I'm told that when Ah Po groomed the horse last month for the final time before his transfer to our Club stables at Shan Kwong Road, Happy Valley, where he underwent the necessary quarantine procedures, Fairy King Prawn was unusually subdued, quite unlike the active horse he has always been. Clearly he sensed that would soon be leaving Ah Po and his many long-time friends at Tuen Mun. Ah Po himself led the horse aboard the transportation float to say a final farewell. 
Sad though he is to leave such a great friend, Ah Po says he feels happy that Fairy King Prawn can return to his birthplace and gallop freely in a more spacious environment for the remainder of his life. There is no doubt that this wonderful horse will be dearly missed by a great many people. And I'd like to take this opportunity of saying my sincere thanks to Ah Po and his colleagues for the great care they have always taken of this champion horse. I'm sure you will join me wishing Fairy King Prawn a long and happy retirement.
During his illustrious career in Hong Kong, Fairy King Prawn made only one of his 26 Hong Kong starts at Happy Valley, namely in October 2000 in the G3 Happy Valley Trophy. Despite carrying top weight of 135 pounds and being unfamiliar with the tight city track, he won this Group event in what was then a record-equalling time.
There are no group races on offer at Happy Valley tonight, but there will be plenty of younger horses and their owners trying to emulate some of Fairy King Prawn's success in the eight races on our card. Please don’t forget we shall also be staging the third of our four Oktoberfest theme nights at the racecourse this evening. The first two have proved really popular, especially with our younger racegoers, and there has been a terrific Bavarian atmosphere in the Beer Garden. So bring along your friends to join us for a night of exciting racing, great beer and tasty German food treats.
The weather forecast predicts further showers and I expect the track will be on the soft side. I would therefore look at those horses who have the proven ability to handle a softer track. The Community Chest Cup is a very competitive race with the pace expected to be good which gives every horse a fair chance, especially on today’s A Course. Danewin Winning should take the lead. The horse made a good debut performance in Hong Kong, finishing second behind Young Turbo last time. Adding to his proven wet record overseas, I think he will be difficult to beat. Carry The Zeal is working well recently, but he is unproven in wet conditions, as well as Shahjee and Young Turbo. I, however, expect Many Gains to make a good run tonight, as the horse was placed on a soft track before. So did Sea The Pearls, as he has proven soft ground form before coming to Hong Kong, and should improve on his seasonal first start when beaten by Touch Go at a shorter distance at the Valley last month.
The Aberdeen Handicap should be run on a good to fast pace and Penglai Xianzi is expected to lead being drawn in gate 4 with Douglas Whyte aboard. He was previously placed on slower track condition and should improve after his first up run. He will be a good each way selection for me. His main opponents should include the likes of Mark Up, Algarve and Soviet Pearl. If the going is on the good side, Algarve would have been my first pick, but I am not sure if he can handle softer ground as capable as Mark Up and Soviet Pearl, who have both won at rain-affected condition.
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