Last weekend was a rather hectic but enjoyable one for me, as on Saturday I attended the Job Fair hosted by the Club in Tin Shui Wai, then on Sunday we staged our big springtime racing festival, the Audemars Piguet QE II Cup and Champions Mile raceday.
Some 11,000 people came along to the Job Fair, including some of them who queued up there overnight. Because of the long queues and the wet weather, we decided to start the event two hours earlier than its original schedule. In the past, some people called Tin Shui Wai as a "city of sadness". I definitely would not agree with that. As for the 3,000 applicants we interviewed on the day, of whom a majority come from Tin Shui Wai, they were generally of great quality and I therefore see significant potential which can be unlocked from there.
In fact, Saturday's turnout was higher than our expectations and I saw a lot of young people coming to apply for our posts. The Club would also love to accelerate the second phase of recruitment, but it will only be possible if we can get an indication that our requests for extra racedays and simulcast days will soon be approved. Should the green light be given, it will create an additional 1,500 jobs for Tin Shui Wai, bringing further assistance to the workforce at this difficult moment.
Although we were only able to interview 3,000 applicants on the day, but we're making sure that none of the others have to miss out, as they can submit applications directly to us and we will arrange more interviews at a later date. Anyway, I look forward to seeing these new staff join the Club's family soon.
The soggy weather also affected our big Sunday raceday, resulting in a lower attendance than last season. However, it certainly didn't dampen the exciting atmosphere, as more than 41,000 people still came along to watch these two exciting international races and cheer on our home runners. May I offer my thanks to everyone for their great support.
As I'd forecast, the rain-soaked track did not give much help to our champion miler Good Ba Ba, though he still ran well to finish fourth in the Champions Mile. Egyptian Ra gave the strong front-running performance that we all expected, but I think you would all agree with me that Sight Winner's victory sprang a great surprise on us all. Japan and Singapore now beckon as the next possible destinations for this honest runner. Whatever his connections decide, I hope he can produce another fine performance in his next race.
In the Audemars Piguet QE II Cup, Presvis became the first UK representative to win this Group One event. His trainer Luca Cumani has iconic status in Europe, and is a professional horseman whom I've always respected a lot. It's nice to see him gaining another major success in Hong Kong, following the victory of Falbrav in the 2003 Hong Kong Cup.
After the race, I talked to Cumani and was delighted to know that he plans to travel the horse again to Hong Kong and compete in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup in December, while veteran Australian trainer John Hawkes also expressed a similar plan for his Champions Mile placegetter Dao Dao for this year's Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Mile. You may not be aware that John Hawkes rarely travels his horses to race overseas but the two excursions in his long career were both to Hong Kong. This reflects how attractive and important our international meetings have become for the top international horses and their trainers.
Having just watched a host of top overseas runners in action on our home turf, I'm pleased to hear that connections of some of our own leading horses are planning to race in the Singapore Airlines International Cup race meeting in three weeks' time. Two of the invited runners for the KrisFlyer International Sprint - Inspiration and Sacred Kingdom - will be running in the Group 2 Sprint Cup at Sha Tin tomorrow, as their lead-up race before setting off for the Lion City.
I will especially be watching the performance of Sacred Kingdom. This former world turf champion sprinter is still yet to be a winner this season, but he will enjoy a five-pound weight advantage from Inspiration and Dim Sum tomorrow. His previous victory came from the same race last year and I'll be interested to see if he can defend his title tomorrow. In the same race, Tuscan Spirit has won all his four previous outings and I look forward to seeing how he measures up against other older sprinters at the Group level.
The Queen Mother Memorial Cup, another Group event tomorrow, also provides an interesting challenge as one has to try to figure out which horses can stay the distance, without a lot of proven form at 2,400 metres. For me, I'll be paying attention to Mr Medici, as his dam sire Platini was a brilliant classic distance performer in Germany. His pedigree should have the stamina to tackle the race and I'll see if he can make a breakthrough this time. Vigor Delight is another horse I would look at, as based on the form he has previously shown in Australia, I believe he has the ability to deal with the longer distance. In the Game Spirit Handicap, I will also be watching Achilles of Troy as his previous winning run on the all-weather track was truly outstanding.
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