It’s been a busy few days, travelling between the UK and Hong Kong to attend the British Champions Day meeting at Ascot last Saturday. I had only a brief 24-hour stay in the UK because I wanted to return to Hong Kong for the Happy Valley meeting on Sunday, but it was certainly worthwhile as I was able to see those exciting races in person and meet with senior officials from other racing jurisdictions.
I was also able to meet many horse connections at Ascot, including some whose horses ran well that day. A number of them told me they would consider sending their horses to Hong Kong for December’s international races. I got the impression that connections of these top horses now give the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races even higher priority than in the recent years, which reflects the ever increasing attractiveness of our flagship international event. I hope and believe that more connections will in future look to Hong Kong as a natural step after British Champions Day, which is the richest race meeting in the UK. This is definitely a good thing for us. We will follow-up soon with news on how these horses have come out of Ascot and what their upcoming race plans are.
As for the local racing scene, keen fans will know that our Champion Sprinter Lucky Nine is due to run in the G1 Manikato Stakes at Moonee Valley, Australia, on Friday evening. This is an important lead-up to his main early-season target, the G1 Patinack Farm Classic at Flemington on 9 November, which is also the penultimate leg of the Global Sprint Challenge that culminates with the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint on 8 December.
The Patinack Farm Classic will be simulcast in Hong Kong but this Friday’s Manikato Stakes will not be. Friday is not a local raceday in Hong Kong and under the current legislative framework, we are only permitted to have simulcasts on non-local racedays 15 times each season.
It would be great if we could enjoy a little more flexibility that would enable us to show our local star horses competing abroad. But given that the Manikato Stakes and the supporting card are run at early evening Hong Kong time, in addition to the fact that it is not Lucky Nine’s main target during his Australian trip, it would not be a sensible call to make Friday’s Moonee Valley card one of those 15 non local-raceday simulcast meetings. If the framework changes in the future, we will be able to feature more international races participating by Hong Kong star horses, and it would allow us to simulcast our local favourites’ performances on the international stage. Of equal importance, this would stop online or illegal bookmakers to making use of this loophole to attract bets from Hong Kong, which has no benefit to the public coffers or the community in Hong Kong.
Before we see how Lucky Nine performs in his maiden start in Australia, it will be business as usual at Happy Valley tonight when the feature attraction off the turf is the Oktoberfest finale. This will be the last chance this year for you to feel that wonderful Oktoberfest atmosphere, and to enjoy the related food treats and performances at the racecourse. So please don’t miss this and tell your friends to come along and join us.
By the way, on the jockeys’ side, while Joao Moreira has already notched up his first win in Hong Kong this season with Noble Deluxe on Sunday, UK-based Irish jockey Neil Callan has returned after a Group 1-winning season in Britain in which he rode over 100 winners. He will have two rides in Better Announce and Polymer Win and let’s see if he can continue the great form he has been showing in Britain.
For the eight races on the card, the Hong Kong Golf Club Centenary Cup is a Class 3 over 2200m and the expected pace is good to slow. However, with the small field size of eight, no horse should have a major disadvantage. Super Pistachio and Level Player can lead and control the pace. Both horses should have no problem with staying the distance and they will be the real contenders for win or being placed. Red Dancer used to miss the start a bit, but he should be well place in midfield. Although he has no proven record over 2200m, he is still my favorite for this race. Super Strike will come from the back of the field. He loves the Valley distance of 2200m and I think he will be a candidate for win and place too.
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