In my last blog I made mention of Hong Kong racing’s rising stars. And tomorrow at Sha Tin, one debutant griffin in particular will attract considerable public attention when it steps into the race arena for the first time. The young hopeful in question is the Caspar Fownes-trained Calling With Love, a horse with a stylish owner who himself has star status – famous local artist-singer Aaron Kwok.
I recall that I have commented in previous blogs that Aaron became an Owner, and like all owners, I’m sure he is excited at the prospect of what this four-year-old horse might achieve. Last season, Calling With Love showed some potential in four barrier trials and won one of those trials at Happy Valley in May. Like most young griffins, he was quite green and seemed to lack concentration due to his inexperience. It appears that Caspar wanted to allow extra time for this horse to mature, and so he was not asked to compete in a race.
The horse has maintained his progress into the new season and travelled quite well along the rail in another trial last week. He will take part in a Class 4 1400m event tomorrow and hopefully he will run well. I’m sure some of you will offer enthusiastic support to Aaron’s horse, but bear in mind of course that this is Calling With Love’s first start; and given that he is still in learning stage, it will be no easy task against more experienced rivals. Let’s see how Aaron’s horse performs and I’m sure many racing fans will look forward to seeing his good performance. I wish Aaron the best of luck!
A number of entertainment news pages wrote that Aaron would return to Hong Kong from Beijing this weekend especially to watch his horse’s debut performance. It’s quite rare for us to see local newspapers – in their non-racing sections – carrying racing-related news about a griffin in a Class 4 race six days before the meeting. It’s good to see that a horse owned by a local celebrity has aroused great interest among the local public, providing exposure to those who have little or no involvement with the sport. After all, it allows more people from different sectors and with different backgrounds to further understand and take part in what is a vibrant and exciting spectator sport.
Thanks to Owners and racing fans’ support, and the thrilling appeal of the racing sport, we have contributed huge amount of racing tax revenues and proceeds to the local public coffer and also to our Charities Trust, season after season. Likewise, we are doing the same in Mark Six Lottery as in every draw, 40 per cent of the betting turnover will be attributed to the Government as Lottery Duty, as well as to the Lotteries Fund in financing different charity and community projects. That’s why every Mark Six ticket actually means a lot as a significant part of the money will end up going for good cause.
Tonight, it looks likely that we will contribute millions of dollars more to the public coffer and Lotteries Fund. With there being no first prize winner in our Mark Six Mid-Autumn Festival Snowball Draw on Tuesday, a huge jackpot of HK$83.3 million has been carried over to tonight’s draw, with the top prize fund estimated to reach a whopping HK$100 million. Make sure you do not miss your chance to try and win this huge prize this evening.
For the 10 races on the card tomorrow, the Tat Chee Handicap is a Class 4 over 1400m. The pace is expected to be good which should give every horse a fair chance. I will be interesting to see how Aaron's horse Calling With Love will perform as a newcomer. The horse showed some good finishing speed in the trial. Being expected to be placed in midfield, he should have the chance to finish well and is a place chance for me. Matsukaze ran well in his first race this season and should find a good place in the front. With his fitness advantage he will be my first choice! Kharu ran well at the season opening meeting and finished fourth. With his improved fitness he is a place chance in this race, too. Joyful Winner II has won only one time from 26 starts but has a good place percentage and he could also be another top-three selection in this race.
As the last race of the day, the Begonia Handicap is a Class 2 race over 1400m, and has President Lincoln – a horse in this field with high expectations for the Derby – entered for the race. The pace is expected to be slow which should help horses in the front. Noble Alpha, Voile Rouge, Groovy and President Lincoln should be well placed and have all a good chance for me to finish in the frame. Noble Alpha is working very well but Voile Rouge - with a race under his belt - enjoys a fitness advantage. Bubble Chic was second in the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) in 2011. This David Hall-trained runner has settled in well and is a horse with significant potential. He will need this race being his first for almost a year but he will be a horse to follow this season.
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