I hope you all enjoyed our Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup race meeting last Sunday a lot, though I'm sure some of you were caught out by the impressive way that South African galloper Archipenko laid claim to the main event. His great performance at Sha Tin well reflects his improvement during the season, and I think he has declared himself as a powerful contender for the European classic races this summer.
Though our champion stayer Viva Pataca just finished third, I'd say he has already given a respectable run in this 2,000-metre race. His jockey Darren Beadman told me after the race the horse was not as fresh and keen as he did in previous races, which the horse's physical strength was obviously affected by his round trip to Dubai.
In another International Group One race last Sunday, the Champions Mile, I think you would agree with me that it was equally exciting to see Andreas Schutz's runner Good Ba Ba thrash his opponents in such a casual fashion. It was somewhat similar to watching a barrier trial, and I would say this is one of the most impressive Group 1 mile performances I've seen.
The high-quality performances of these two top runners, in the face of strong competition from France, Japan, Germany and New Zealand, show how international our top races have become and further underline Hong Kong's growing status in world racing.
Apart from operating racing, which has long been a popular sport and entertainment among local people, the Club has been very supportive of the development of the equestrian sport. The world-class venues we have built for the Olympic equestrian events in Hong Kong this summer are all now completed and ready for use.
We are now looking forward to witnessing a great event this Friday as Hong Kong will be hosting a leg of Olympic Torch Relay, in fact the first leg of the relay back on Chinese soil since the flame left Beijing. Our Club is very honoured to be receiving the Olympic flame at the Hong Kong Olympic equestrian venue at Sha Tin as well as Sha Tin Racecourse. Our Club Chairman John Chan and Racing Talent Development Manager Amy Chan, one of Hong Kong's top former badminton stars, have been appointed as torchbearers.
But I'm most delighted to learn that our top local jockey Howard Cheng will also represent our sport of horse racing and hold the relay torch aboard an equestrian horse as the relay makes a circuit of our racetrack. As a homegrown rider representing the sport of horse racing, it truly represents recognition to the role played by horse racing in Hong Kong life and the achievements of our local riders. The Club has also given its staunch support to the development of equestrian sport and Club-sponsored equestrian rider Kenneth Cheng, also a leading equestrian contender in Hong Kong and now bidding for Olympic glory, will be joining Howard for the torch relay at the Sha Tin Racecourse.
Before this historic moment on Friday, though, Howard Cheng has another great mission awaiting him tomorrow as he will partner our sprint champion Sacred Kingdom for the first time in the Group 2 GOME Sprint at Sha Tin. Sacred Kingdom has a point to prove after losing to champion miler Good Ba Ba in his last start at the Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup, so it will be interesting to see how our world champion sprinter perform this time.
Among the other 10 races on the card, I will be paying attention to Multi-Win Spirit and Sevens Heaven. Both runners are specialists in seven-furlong races, and I hope they can maintain good performances they recently showed at their best distance tomorrow.
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