With five race meetings to go it’s natural to take an even closer interest in the jockeys’ and trainer’s premierships. On the jockeys’ side of things Douglas Whyte is sitting in a commanding position after he landed a treble on Sunday and further extended his lead against Zac Purton to 11 winners. That is a huge advantage at this stage and gives him a pretty good chance to be our champion jockey for the 13th consecutive season.
It’s a different story altogether in the trainers’ title race which, if not the fiercest contest in recent times, I would say is certainly one of the most competitive. All four trainers currently vying for the championship at the top of the leader board, namely Dennis Yip, Tony Cruz, John Size and Caspar Fownes, each scored a winner on Sunday, which means Yip is still three winners ahead of Cruz. But it looks like being a close fight to the wire as Size is four behind and Fownes in fourth is just six winners behind Yip. With 47 races still to contest in the remaining five race meetings, there is still all to play for in this year’s competition for the champion trainer title.
Although every trainer is the leader of his respective stable, I believe he could not get the job done by himself, and I’m sure all the trainers would tell you that themselves. Every trainer relies on the support of his stable team; from assistant trainers to head lads, work riders to stables assistants, all stable staff fill key roles that are each important to stable operation. It is their collective efforts and teamwork that ensures the stable functions well and produces results.
They are all responsible for taking good care of the horses and they take the time to get to know the different needs and special characters of the animals. The stable staff, according to their trainer’s instruction, try their best to keep the horses happy in their training as they prepare for their races. Given Hong Kong’s city environment, it’s understandable that not all staff working in the stables had experience with caring for horses before joining us in the Club. Many of them actually learnt the related skills bit by bit through training and carrying out their routine duties. Through this process, many have developed into very knowledgeable horsemen over the years.
Some of them are so dedicated to their roles that they are willing to learn more and pursue further studies. In view of this, the Club's Racing Development Board organised different racing certificate programmes for stable staff to gain further professional knowledge regarding the racing industry, theories and concepts concerning stable operation and management. I am glad to know that there have been close to 300 existing stable staff who have completed racing certificate courses of different levels, with a couple of dozens of them still under on-the-job training as well. The Racing Development Board has been very commited to upgrading the quality of stable staff, which I see it an important establishment for the continued success of Hong Kong racing going forward.
Alongside the expert knowledge and organisation from the respective trainers, it is the dedication and hardwork of the stable teams that has laid the good foundations for the successes of their barns. Whoever lifts the champion trainer title in a couple of weeks’ time will no doubt express their gratitude to the team behind them.
For those stable staff who will be joining our races at Happy Valley tonight, there is one thing in common for sure, is that they would all hope to see the horses they handle to run well in races. As for the races themselves, the Sports Club Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup is run as a Class 3 over 1200m on the C Course, which tends to favour horses in front of the field. My Goal is likely to push forward from Gate 9 to overcome his awkward draw and to lead with Prolific Champion or rails drawn Impeccable. All Friends should find a good spot behind the leaders with News Supreme, Royal Partner and Metallic Star who is at risk to be raced wide. The pace should be good to slow which should favour horses in front of the field. Royal Partner is working very well in blinkers applied first time in the race and is my first pick for this race. Prolific Champion is working well too and is a serious challenger as is Metallic Star. As an interesting outsider I see All Friends.
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