After the rainfall at Happy Valley last Wednesday our racing surface was put to the test once again on Sunday, this time at Sha Tin, as unstable weather affected our race meeting. The rain was particularly hard during Race 9. If you were at the racecourse or followed our live racing that day, or have recapped the race footage, you will know that the 1000m event was held amidst a torrential downpour.
As usual, we liaised closely with the Observatory during the day. Not only did we consult the Observatory about the latest weather condition on a regular basis, we also monitored radar images and weather information that was available on the Observatory website. Furthermore, we have in-house lightning detection systems installed at both Sha Tin and Happy Valley racetracks which enable us to detect and record the thunderstorm development around the racecourse areas and beyond.
Monitoring the system supplements the information obtained from the weather bureau, helping us to further understand the weather development by the racecourse areas. Thus, informed and fact-based arrangements can be made for racing operations, to minimise the risks to racehorses, jockeys and other Club colleagues who are working at the starting gates and other parts of the track during race-day.
But as you can understand, weather can change and deteriorate within a short period of time and can surprise even the weathermen. That is what happened this time as the thunderstorm developed very quickly and approached the track shortly before the start of the 1000m race. That left very few options open to us, and the only decision we could make was to run the race. We balanced the risk factors and concluded that it would take even longer for the horses to canter back and potentially that would have posed a greater risk to horses and riders with the threat of lightning in the air.
After the race we also decided to delay the post time of the next race by 20 minutes to wait for better weather as indicated by the forecast from the Observatory. The weather stabilized quickly at about 30 minutes after Race 9, as the sky became clearer and the visibility improved substantially. The last two races were held under only a little rain and even no rain at all, and we were able to complete all the day’s races without any hiccups. Despite the adverse weather last week, we all were very pleased with both tracks as they are still performing well under such adverse weather. This is down to the efforts and hard work of our Tracks Team colleagues.
It appears that the rain will be weakened a bit tonight. Should it be the case, it will certainly let our racegoers to better enjoy the final all-weather race night of the season at Sha Tin this evening.
The Happy Valley track gets a well-deserved break after eight races and nine turf trials in wet conditions last week. This is one of the rare opportunities for a weeknight All Weather Track race meeting and it is well received with 103 horses set to run in right dirt races.
The final race of the night is the Class 2 1800m Mercury Handicap, a unique chance to see some of our higher rated horses over this distance. Sichuan Vigour is a win or top-three chance as he has closed well in his only two races over the surface this season at 1650m, and will appreciate the added distance. He is a son of Hard Spun, a horse that raced exclusively on dirt and finished second in the Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic.
Santa Fe Sun is trying the dirt for the first time in his career, but did his trial well on the surface last month. He is a place chance here along with the improving Obliterator. Vanilla is another top-three chance as he is proven on the surface and can handle the trip. Hypersonic is a five-time winner on the dirt but the distance will test him.
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