The dust is still settling in the aftermath of last Sunday’s sensational Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris and there has been quite a bit of comment about jockeyship following that famous victory. A lot of deserving praise has been heaped upon Olivier Peslier, justifiably so, for his skillful horsemanship and determined drive to clinch a fourth Arc success atop Solemia.
Peslier is undoubtedly one of the world’s finest riders, a fact he emphasised with two further high-profile wins on Arc weekend, a Group 1 success on Solemia’s relative Silasol in the Prix Marcel Boussac and a 9-length verdict aboard Cirrus Des Aigles in the Group 2 Prix Dollar. Here in Hong Kong, our race fans have a great appreciation of what it takes to be a top rider – our ultra-competitive racing has benefited for many years from the high calibre of jockeys the Club attracts and develops. That too was emphasised at Longchamp with some familiar faces among the winners.
Gerald Mosse has a long association with us here in Hong Kong and he was in great form, winning the G1 Prix de l’Abbaye on Wizz Kid and guiding Zinabaa to success in the G2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein. And Umberto Rispoli, who made a fine impression last season during his initial stay in Hong Kong, was on hand to win his first French Group 1 race on Molly Malone in the Prix du Cadran. It was pleasing to see that Rispoli has continued to work hard and progress in France these past few months, much as Maxime Guyon before him and of course fellow rising star Mickael Barzalona, who is now a leading Godolphin rider and finished third in the Arc on Masterstroke.
The Club always keeps a close eye on young riding talent around the world and I’m sure you all noted that the Club has just extended riding contracts for the coming months to four riders, including Hong Kong newcomer Tom Queally. The talented Irishman is a former UK Champion Apprentice who has been in the spotlight in recent seasons as the partner of the phenomenal Frankel. Next weekend, he will attempt to guide the great champion to a 14th straight victory in the horse’s final race, the G1 Champion Stakes at Ascot. He will join us for the first time in December, while Rispoli, Mosse and Neil Callan will each return.
No doubt these four jockeys are looking forward to the unique atmosphere we have at our race meetings here in Hong Kong. And on that note, I must comment on the fantastic on-course vibe we enjoyed at our first Oktoberfest meeting of the season at Happy Valley on Wednesday night, which drew our famous city track’s biggest crowd of the season so far, with over 18,000 race fans in attendance – it was great to see so many of you having a fun time.
These themed race meetings are proving hugely popular and no sooner have the bier kegs been drained at The Valley than we’re already looking forward to another feature race day on Sunday at Sha Tin. Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse Day is a wow-factor occasion and the ladies in attendance never fail to bring glamourous chic to the racecourse. As most of you will know, Ladies’ Purse Day is one of the season’s most popular race days and in recent years it’s normal for the occasion to attract over 60,000 enthusiastic race-goers. We will of course redress the balance a touch this year, so that the Ladies don’t have all the fun – Kent & Curwen will join with us to stage a unique “Gentlemen’s Day” on Kent & Curwen Centenary Sprint Cup race-day in January, so remember to get your suits pressed ahead of time!
These events are always fun and provide added entertainment for our race-goers around this thrilling sport of ours. Horseracing is well known as one of Hong Kong’s most popular sports and days such as these offer diversity as they cater to the varied interests of our race-goers. It’s good that we are able to captivate people of different profiles, all of whom come along to enjoy racing’s unique excitement. Sunday’s 10-race card provides plenty of exciting on-track action, headed by the day’s feature race, the 1800m HKG3 Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse, the first middle-distance Pattern race of the season. This is a high-class renewal of the contest with a few contenders no doubt hoping to make the International Races in December.
The Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse was recently promoted to a HK Group 3 event and is a race that helps shape the future success for many of the top horses in Hong Kong. Packing Whiz is a good example, as he has now won three of his last four races, with all victories coming in Class 2, and now he steps up after an eye-catching win on National Day. He showed great acceleration coming through on the inside and carrying top weight of 133 pounds to win in good time and now stretches out to the Ladies’ Purse distance of 1800m . Before coming to Hong Kong, his best success was at a mile in Italy but I believe he will be equally effective at 1800m. Moore has won this race in three of the last five years and has four runners in this year's renewal, including Same World, a horse that should improve with his light weight and the benefit of a first-up run. It is great to see a competitive full field in this race and, for me, Familists and Little Dreams have good place chances.
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