Hi all, I've arrived in Tokyo and am all set to attend the 27th Japan Cup tomorrow. Originally, I was most interested in seeing how Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Dylan Thomas would match up to the Japanese contenders on their home turf at Tokyo Racecourse, but this top European challenger has now been forced to withdraw.
As they say, however, behind every cloud there's a silver lining, and in this case the happy outcome for our local racing fans is that there's now a very good chance the horse will be coming to Hong Kong instead, to take part in our Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Vase. Should that be confirmed, it will truly be a wonderful compliment for both the Club and Hong Kong, as Dylan Thomas was recently voted European Horse of the Year and this would be the farewell run of his glittering career.
Apart from enjoying these exciting races in Japan, I will take the opportunity, in my capacity as Chairman of the Asian Racing Federation, to meet up again with Mr Kenji Tsuchikawa, the new President and Chief Executive Officer of the Japan Racing Association.
Having joined the association as a veterinary surgeon in 1968, Mr Tsuchikawa has now been serving the JRA for almost 40 years. I greatly admire his passion and dedication to Japan's racing development over his long career, and agree wholeheartedly with his motto – "No racing without the support of fans and customers".
For my own part, it will be my tenth year of living in Hong Kong next year. I don't mind telling you that some of my colleagues, friends and family members in Germany did not expect me to stay here that long. But like Mr Tsuchikawa, I really enjoy the challenge of my job, and get a lot of satisfaction from witnessing the rapid pace of racing's development as a sport in Hong Kong.
Mr Tsuchikawa also believes that Japanese racing is now in the midst of a time-for-change. One of the policy initiatives the JRA recently raised is to offer a 5 percent extra dividend for customers who have placed winning bets on the Japanese Derby race in June next year, as well as on 13 other stake races to be held in 2008. Though this measure is still subject to government's approval, it has particularly interested me and I think it will definitely help Japanese fans to enjoy their racing more.
Going back to the races, for the Japan Cup that we will simulcast to you tomorrow, my eyes will be on Meisho Samson and I would be very eager to see how he performs at the race.
Besides horse racing, good food is for sure my "second favourite". I would recommend you to visit a restaurant in Roppongi called Kani Seryna where I had a fantastic dinner last night with the in-season horseshoe crab. It was a bit expensive but was really good!
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