I know that a great number of people in Hong Kong are interested in jogging and distance running. This can be seen by the large number of participants in the Hong Kong Marathon held annually in February. I like to go jogging myself early in the morning as it not only helps me tune my body and stay fit, it also gives me the chance to relax and enjoy some serenity at the beginning of each day.
I would love to tackle the challenge of the Hong Kong Marathon some day, but my role as Club CEO means that I have long working hours and often need to spend time out of Hong Kong. So it would be difficult for me to do the regular and systematic training needed to run a marathon. I have taken part in some half marathons before and they have all given me pleasurable experiences. I'm delighted that this year the opportunity has arisen for me to participate in this long distance running event in another way, which will raise funds for charity at the same time.
The organisers Standard Chartered Bank and Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association are arranging a special "Leaders Cup" race on the same day, 8 February, over a two-kilometre route from Wan Chai Sports Ground to Victoria Park, and I sent in my registration yesterday. Although this is only a short course, its purpose means far more than its distance, as donations raised from business and industry leaders will go to the "Seeing is Believing" campaign, which raises funds to ORBIS to tackle the problem of avoidable blindness in developing countries, by training medical staff and providing treatment for those affected. So if you see me running the streets near the Victoria Park that morning, you can say 'hi' and raise a cheer to show me your support.
I'm pleased to say that a number of my colleagues at the Jockey Club are also fond of distance running and other sports, and some of them will also be participating in the Marathon event that day. Most of our jockeys do regular jogging as well, as they need to pay a lot of attention to their physical condition and health.
It seems, however, that the change of weather has caused even some normally healthy people to be hit by influenza. This includes three of our local jockeys – Terry Wong, Marco Chui and Derek Leung – who were forced to stand down from their races last Sunday after developed flu-related symptoms. With the Lunar New Year approaching, I hope you all will stay healthy in the year ahead.
It's great to learn that Terry and Derek can resume riding at Happy Valley this evening. Among the races on tonight's card, with a Triple Trio jackpot of HK$18.2 million up for grabs, I will be paying my special attention to Towkay Flyer, Speedy Warrior and Able Dragon. Towkay Flyer had a splendid performance in his victory at 1,000m in early December. In his last start at the distance of 1,200m at the Valley, he was again taken into a leading position but failed to deliver on the home straight. I hope he will perform better when returning to his winning distance tonight.
For Speedy Warrior, this New Zealand-import has shown gradual improvement in his second season in Hong Kong, as he has finished in the money in all of his four starts this term, including his maiden victory in Hong Kong in December. Although his winning partner Douglas Whyte is suspended at the moment, he will still have a strong partner in Brett Prebble. I hope the better draw can favour him to maintain his consistent performance tonight.
In his first career start at the Valley a fortnight ago, Able Dragon delivered a unexpectedly decent run when he chased up along the rail, and was just defeated by 1½ lengths for a close fifth. He has had better preparation this time and let's see if Gerald Mosse can steer him one step further at the same distance tonight.
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