After a two-month summer break, fans returned to the racecourse last Sunday as local racing resumed. As I mentioned to media friends after the races on Sunday, it was a golden start to our season, as a record number of over 74,000 people went through the turnstiles of both racecourses to enjoy the excitement and great atmosphere of the spectacular lion dance performance and live racing. Along with the turnover of HK$1.139 billion, and the HK$136 million tax revenue generated for the public coffer, it was a terrific and encouraging start for the Club. The day gave us extra optimism for the season ahead as we celebrate our 130th anniversary year.
Despite the hot weather, hundreds of racegoers even arrived an hour before the gates at Sha Tin were actually due to be opened. It was pleasing that most stayed until the end of the meeting to enjoy the races. In the meantime, our customers gave us some overwhelming responses to our new facilities and boxes at the racecourse, as they were all fully booked last Sunday. Many customers were very satisfied and praised these new venues. It’s nice to see so many people enjoying the racecourse experience and the entertainment the sport delivers. This is what we always want to achieve for our patrons and their enthusiasm shows that we are on the right track.
I know that a large number of racegoers are big fans of Joao Moreira and he gave his supporters plenty to cheer about as he notched a treble at his first ever Hong Kong season opener. Reigning Champion Jockey Zac Purton is another crowd favourite and he scored a winning double, showing his early determination to defend his Champion Jockey crown. I thought that each of these two top jockeys rode standout wins on the day, namely Joao’s HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup success on Golden Harvest, and Zac’s barnstorming victory aboard International Sale Graduate Sensation. They were both exciting rides and well worth another look.
While the local racing season got off to a bumper start over the weekend, it was also a super weekend for European racing as several major races were held in England, France and Ireland. Top horses such as Treve, Australia, The Grey Gatsby and Kingston Hill were among those that featured on Saturday and Sunday. And with so many other leading horses of all ages competing over a whole range of distances, it took me almost an hour to recap the action and review the footage!
It was well worth the time as there were some very exciting outcomes. As the pick of them all, I would choose the battle between the winners of the English Derby and the French Derby, Australia and The Grey Gatsby, in the Irish Champion Stakes. For me, it was definitely the race of the weekend. These two top three-year-olds went stride for stride in the final stages of the race to produce an exciting finish. Australia had beaten The Grey Gatsby quite comfortably into second place at York last month but this time, with Ryan Moore showing his trademark strength in a finish, the latter horse came out on top.
Elsewhere, in France the performance of Treve in the Prix Vermeille was a bit disappointing, which raised questions about her chance of defending her crown in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe next month. And in the Prix Foy, another important step-up event for the Arc, last year’s English Derby winner Ruler Of The World won from the front for Al Shaqab Racing. He was having his first start since spring, as was the impressive winner of the Prix Niel, Ectot, and the emergence of these two colts as leading candidates make Europe’s autumn showpiece even more interesting.
The previous day at Doncaster, in the English St Leger, Kingston Hill looked like a good winner and he too could be bound for the Arc. He was ridden by Andrea Atzeni, who will join us in Hong Kong for a short contract starting in November. Andrea enjoyed a big weekend; on Sunday, in Ireland, the two-year-old filly Cursory Glance brought him a quick-fire G1 double in the Moyglare Stud Stakes. Anyway, I’m sure you will have the chance to watch some of these top horses perform in our overseas simulcasts later in the season. Perhaps we will see some of these stars at Sha Tin in December to contest our International Races.
Back to local racing, I was pleased to see typhoon Kalmaegi came and went fast. Our colleagues monitored the track and racecourse facilities closely during the typhoon. Thankfully the track and other facilities are all fine, so our season’s first night race meeting at Sha Tin tonight can go ahead as scheduled. But you can expect there will be occasional showers during the day, so you may wish to take this factor into account when you are studying the races.
Among the eight races, Chung Hom Kok Handicap is the last race tonight and it’s run as a Class 3 over 1200m on the All-Weather Track. The pace is expected to be good, with Ambitious King from Gate 2 and Apollo Cavalier from Gate 6 going forward to take the lead. Comeback Kid and Laugh Out Loud are likely fighting for a good position behind the leaders, while London Walk and King Derby should both be well placed in midfield.
Ambitious King is my first choice to win the race because he seems to be well prepared for the race by Tony Millard, whose stable had a good start with his horses in the first race meeting. London Walk is bred to handle the surface and he finished well in his trial and should be a good place chance similar to Apollo Cavalier. If on form, Comeback Kid is definitely a chance here even to win the race. But with an increase of his body weight, I am not sure of his fitness condition, and John Size usually not overly prepares his horses for their first starts into the season.
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