There are just three more race meetings until the current racing season ends but as always the Jockey Club is already looking ahead and over the past few weeks we have been finalising plans for next season. This is a crucial period of time and a lot of people have been working to ensure everything that needs to be done will be done in ample time, so as to enable planning for the 2015/2016 season between our different stakeholders.
One of the important items we have finalised is the prize money levels we will offer in the new season. Over the past few years, we have increased our prize money levels, not just to match the rising status and standards of our races, but also to provide better incentives and potential returns for our Owners, enabling them to import horses of higher quality to Hong Kong. The aim, of course, is to maintain and enhance Hong Kong’s world class racing product. This strategy, with the huge support of our Owners in recent seasons, has resulted in positive outcomes. I’m sure most of you would agree with me that the outcome has in fact been fantastic. We have six G1 races in the 2014 World's Top 100 and four in the Top 25, and a Hong Kong record 23 horses listed in the 2014 Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings.
It will be even more thrilling if we can maintain this brilliant progress in the future. With this in mind we decided to boost local prize money by a further HK$76 million, or 7.5 per cent, in the new season. The prize money available in 2015/2016 is a new overall prize money record for a Hong Kong season, exceeding the HK$1 billion mark for the first time in our racing history.
With the prize money levels of our top-tier contests amongst the very highest in the world, and therefore already in a strong position, we have focused on the other race tiers on this occasion. Apart from arranging across-the-board increases for class races, one to five, and for all G2, HKG2 and HKG3 contests, we have also made significant prize money increases to two legs of the Hong Kong Speed Series, the Centenary Sprint Cup and Chairman’s Sprint Prize. Each of these two HKG1 contests will carry a prize of HK$8 million next season.
I think it’s always important for us to ensure any crop of newly imported horses is of best possible quality if we are to maintain the sustainability of our world-class racing. Accordingly we have done more in rewarding these young runners. Apart from extending the highly successful High Achievement Bonus programme, we are also raising the prize money for the first two legs of the Four-Year-Old Series, the HKG1 Hong Kong Classic Mile and Hong Kong Classic Cup, to HK$10 million. With already on offer for the HK$18 million BMW Hong Kong Derby, the entire Four-Year-Old Series will carry a total purse of HK$38 million.
The costs of obtaining horses for racing here, whether they be young unraced horses or even more for private purchases, are growing, making these added incentives a logical step for our loyal Owners. We are quite confident that our owners and related parties will welcome the adjustments to race prize money, and, to the benefit of our racing fans, I’m sure the increases will also further enhance the competitiveness and excitement level of our races.
Tomorrow at Sha Tin we will stage the third last meeting of the season, with 11 races on the card. John Moore had a barren day in midweek but he’s still leading John Size by three wins in the Trainers’ Championship, with Caspar Fownes a further two wins behind in third.
The seventh race Pak Sha O Handicap is a Class 3 at 1400m and is the final leg of the Triple Trio, featuring an estimated dividend of HK$23 million. Sky Hero has had an interrupted campaign this year, missing time after his last run in early May but is working well for his return and is nicely drawn over his preferred course and distance. He should be well positioned in midfield behind a good pace and is a win and top three chance in this race.
Sun Pins made his first start in nearly a year last month on the dirt track and now returns to his best course and distance. He has also been working well and it is interesting that Douglas Whyte, the regular rider for Sky Hero, has opted to take the ride on Sun Pins. He is a solid place chance and will be finishing the race off strongly in his second-up run. Sunny Pearl and Righteous have natural speed to be amongst the pace makers and both are a place chance along with outsider Baab Al Nasr.
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