It’s a case of back to the daily routine after this past weekend’s memorable trip to Dubai. We certainly had some moments to savour with a Hong Kong winning double, and I’m delighted to learn that the connections of Amber Sky and Sterling City are still aiming big, with further major sprint events in Singapore and the UK being considered before the season’s end. I hope all the Hong Kong horses who competed in Dubai will recover from their efforts upon returning to Hong Kong.
A number of overseas horses that performed well in Dubai also have a chance to come here for our spring internationals, possibly facing some of our returning runners such as Akeed Mofeed, Military Attack, Blazing Speed and Dominant. South African runner Vercingetorix produced a smart performance to finish second in the Dubai Duty Free and it’s nice to hear his connections have shown interest in an invitation to the APQEII Cup, as have the connections of World Cup fourth Side Glance. Godolphin Mile winner Variety Club is also being talked of as a possible challenger for the Champions Mile a week later. Hopefully, you all could hear more encouraging news about that next week when we will announce the list of selected runners for the APQEII Cup.
While on the subject of Dubai, I mentioned in my previous blog that I would be attending some important meetings whilst there. One of those was the first meeting of the International Horse Sports Confederation (IHSC), the new body formed by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) and the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). Our first meeting confirmed the priorities of IHSC, namely to fight against doping and any abuse of horses, to continue working towards improving the international movement of “High Health High Performance Horses”, to assist the industry by surveillance and reporting of diseases and to create a fund for joint initiatives to support the horse sports industry.
It was a very encouraging first meeting, which underlined the benefits of this joint approach between two significant organisations.
There’s another important step forward that concerns Hong Kong racing - commingling. After months of liaison and detailed planning, we have reached an agreement with TVG in the United States, which will enable racing fans there to follow Hong Kong racing, starting from our Chairman’s Trophy raceday at Sha Tin this Sunday.
It is quite a number of years since we in Hong Kong were the first to put forward the idea of commingling, so this agreement represents a big step forward for us as we push forward the development of commingling. Its significance lies in the fact that with the good coverage of TVG in the States, we will be able to export Hong Kong racing’s world-class product, and, of course, our Club’s brand, to over 36 million households in the US. This will enable more people in the US and possibly other parts of the world to understand and engage with Hong Kong’s favourite sporting pastime. And the timing of this is very good as the success of our runners in Dubai will no doubt arouse the interests of some American racing fans.
Before the commingling comes into effect on Sunday, we shall first enjoy the sport and unique atmosphere at Happy Valley this evening. Tonight, the racecourse will feature over 20 artworks of Batman, Superman, X-Men, Ironman, Spiderman and many other superheroes from world-class Chinese comic artist Pat Lee at the "Heroes in the Valley" party. I am sure fans of American fantasy comics will enjoy a unique combination of visual and sporting excitement.
Among the eight races on the card, the Pottinger Handicap is run as a Class 3 over 1800m and is the last race of the day. With the softer track and being the last race of the evening, these factors will likely make the part of the track along the rail not being the best place to be and it will be interesting to see how the track will play out. Emperor Claudius will take the lead and will probably be joined by Horse Aplenty which needs to come across from his wide barrier. It seems that they will have no pressure which will result in a slow pace, but as important as the pace will be the runners’ ability to handle a softer track. Mr Medici should be well placed in midfield with Winning Mascot just behind him. Both horses have in my view a good chance to win or running a place, especially as they both should have no problem in handling a softer track. Horse Aplenty was previously placed on a soft track too and can repeat that performance. Jamesina has to come from further back of the field and is a place chance too.
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