As you all probably know by now, Hong Kong challenger Sacred Kingdom finished fifth in the Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot last weekend. Actually, this wasn't a bad performance in the circumstances, as the horse was sweating a bit before the start and the pacing of the race didn't suit him much.
I was at Ascot to see the race myself and felt Sacred Kingdom never found his normal flowing rhythm. This may have been due to the undulation of the track, which I mentioned before the race as being a testing factor for horses used to flat surfaces. When Cape Of Good Hope conquered this Group One race back in 2005, Ascot Racecourse was under renovation and the race was actually staged at York, which was a firmer track than Ascot and proved to be easier for our runner. Our top racehorses usually seem to perform better on the flat tracks of Japan and Singapore than in Europe, where they can face some quite challenging slopes. It would be nice if we had some uphill or downhill training tracks in our facilities at Sha Tin, but current space limitations don't allow it. This is something we need to consider for the future, though, so as to help our horses become more adaptable and get better prepared for different racecourses when they take on challenges around the world.
Anyway, even though Sacred Kingdom’s overseas venture did not end in success this time, I would say it will serve as good experience for both Ricky Yiu and Brett Prebble in future. And I’m especially delighted to hear how much interest the media and a lot of our local racing fans showed in following the race. Actually, I received a lot of feedback from both the media and the racing public asking why the Club could not simulcast the race live to Hong Kong and how they could watch the race live on the Internet. This is clear evidence of how many local racing fans are concerned with following the performance of our top racehorses overseas.
For those who have been following my blog, you'll know that I’ve been asking the Government to relax the current restrictions on overseas simulcast races. These restrictions not only mean that racing fans are deprived of the chances to watch these races and follow the performance of top class racehorses, they also mean the Government is missing out on valuable tax revenue and the Club is losing funds that could contribute to the community. Most importantly of all, perhaps, local racing fans are encouraged to bet through unregulated and undesirable channels. This is clearly not what we want to see.
Tonight, our attention turns back to local racing, as this evening’s programme at Happy Valley is our last night meeting of the current season. It’s great to see that our average attendance at Happy Valley has risen by a few percentage points this season. To add further appeal to our evening meetings at the Valley and encourage more people to come along with their friends, we've put quite a lot of effort into arranging special themes and events this season, so it’s nice to see this bearing fruit. This city’s racetrack is a good place to relax and enjoy the excitement of racing in the middle of a busy working week, and I hope we can see the growth trend continuing next term.
Until then, please thoroughly enjoy yourself at Happy Valley tonight. Among eight exciting races on the card, I will be watching the performance of Marble Red in the Rose Handicap. Marble Red showed great progress in his last appearance at the Valley as he had every chance to win the race in the straight but was just beaten by the outstanding Gallant Master at the wire. Ricky Yiu has stepped up his preparations this time and I hope to see this young horse giving a decent performance tonight. Having finished a respectable 6th in his first-up after a six-month break in his last start at 1200m, O'Reilly Magic will be returning to the mile tonight and let's see if he can get a close finish as well.
In addition, I'll be paying my attention to Whiplash in the Freesia Handicap. This Caspar Fownes-trained runner finished closely in his last two runs at the Valley. He will be partnered by in-form apprentice Matthew Chadwick tonight and I'll see if the horse can get his first win of the season.
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