Local celebrities were the stars of our Sha Tin races last Sunday, as Eric Tsang’s Caga Spirit won the opening race of the day, then first-time horse owner Aaron Kwok stole the limelight five races later, when his horse Calling With Love made a very impressive debut to win a Class 4 event. Incidentally, Caga Spirit also became the first horse to score successive victories this season.
Aaron has long been a great horse lover and has come to many of our race meetings in the past, including some in his role as our Derby ambassador and some as a guest of our racing sponsors. But Sunday was the first time he has come in the capacity of Owner to watch his horse start in a race, and needless to say his appearance attracted huge attention from both the crowd and the media. I hear that about 30 entertainment news reporters made special visits to the racecourse to follow Aaron and see how his horse performed.
Aaron and I actually watched the race together and I could sense his tenseness, especially when the runners entered the home straight. He told the media afterwards that he felt more nervous than before one of his concerts, as it was like watching his own child out there! But I can tell you that he was also very excited after the horse clinched an easy victory. It was a truly special moment for Aaron!
Aaron was also full of praise for Caspar Fownes, recalling that the trainer advised him against letting Calling With Love race before the end of last season, so as to give the horse more training and wait for it to become more mature. Clearly these efforts by the connections paid off.
It's very encouraging to us that popular celebrities like Aaron Kwok and Eric Tsang are so supportive of local racing, as it will increase the sport's exposure among the general public and give them a greater understanding of the fun and excitement it involves. It shows, too, that horse racing is about far more than just gambling – another point Aaron stressed when he was talking to the media. It is about a well-planned training and preparation for targeted competitions, which is also common to most sports. All top athletes, whether human or equine, need rigorous and carefully-structured training to ensure that they peak at just the right time to get good results in the major tournaments or competitions.
Tonight’s races at Happy Valley will again depict the very close relationship between racing and other sports, as our feature race will be the Hong Kong Outstanding Athletes Cup, paying tribute to the local athletes who showed such wonderful "can do" spirit at the recent London Olympics and Paralympics.
As you will recall, cyclist Sarah Lee put in a superb performance to take the bronze medal in the ladies' keirin event of the Olympics, while our brave Paralympians collected a total of 12 medals – including three golds, three silvers and six bronze – in wheelchair fencing, swimming, table tennis and athletics. As a major supporter of local sport, the Club has made immense contributions to the Hong Kong Sports Institute – the hub for elite sports training in Hong Kong – providing over HK$787 million in donations and funding to the institute since 1977. We are delighted to see many top athletes who trained in the Sports Institute achieving these great results in London and we want to take the opportunity of recognising their perseverance and high morale demonstrated in the competitions, as well as the achievements the athletes have made at the Games.
A number of these athletes will also be joining us tonight at Happy Valley and will present trophies to the winning connections, so do come along and join us in celebrating their outstanding performances.
This Cup event is run as a Class 3 over 1650m, which is expected to be run at a good to slow pace. Good Luck Win will have to work early to get across from Gate 10 to lead with Easy To Rich. Flying In and Mega Champion can be well placed. Mega Champion is my first choice for this race as he came on from a very good second in his first run of this season two weeks ago. Flying In is working well too, and is a place chance for me. Easy To Rich won at long odds of 51-1 in his last start last week, and should not be underestimated, as well as Mochi who has to overcome a tricky draw which likely forces him to come from the back for a place.
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