Nice to talk to you all again! Straight after Sunday's Sha Tin meeting, I took a late night flight back to Germany, where on Monday evening I eventually reached the city of Mönchengladbach to join my dad in celebrating his 80th birthday the following day. Many other members of my family have also come back from different parts of Germany to our home place for this occasion, and we all treasure the time we can spend with him. We arranged a special celebration party for him last night and all had a great time. I'm happy to say that that my father enjoyed himself a lot.
Some of you may be interested to know more about the city of Mönchengladbach. It's located on the western side of Germany, very close to the Dutch border, and one can reach the Netherlands in less than an hour. Although I was not born in Mönchengladbach, I lived in the city for over 37 years, as Gestut Zoppenbroich – the thoroughbred stud farm I managed in Germany – is located in the vicinity. So do my children, who are studying in local schools here.
Some of you may be interested to know more about the city of Mönchengladbach. It's located on the western side of Germany, very close to the Dutch border, and one can reach the Netherlands in less than an hour. Although I was not born in Mönchengladbach, I lived in the city for over 37 years, as Gestut Zoppenbroich – the thoroughbred stud farm I managed in Germany – is located in the vicinity. So do my children, who are studying in local schools here.
I'm sure that many of our Hong Kong football fans will also be familiar with the name, as it's the home town of Borussia Mönchengladbach, who compete in the German Bundesliga. They're one of the largest football clubs in Germany and enjoyed a golden period in the 1970s, when they won the league five times and the UEFA Cup twice. They also reached the European Cup final in 1977, losing to Liverpool. Although they had a disappointing season last year, finishing only 15th in the league, I'm pleased to say they've made a better start this term and currently lie 10th.
While football is the most popular sport here, there are lots of parks and woodlands in the urban area, which is why some have nicknamed Mönchengladbach "the city in the countryside". The comfortable and serene environment adds an artistic and cultural sense to people's lifestyle, which may explain why there are several renowned contemporary and fine art museums here. So if you have the chance to visit Germany, you might like to consider including Mönchengladbach in your travel itinerary.
Although I cannot attend tonight's racing at Happy Valley, I've had a good look through the eight-race card and will be especially interested to hear how Happee Gift performs in the Elm Handicap. After the horse was transferred to John Moore's stable during the summer break, the horse showed considerable improvements, including his barrier trial win on the all-weathered track last week. He will be ridden by Darren Beadman and I'm expecting a good performance from him tonight. But I will not be too surprised if two six-furlong specialists – Asian Citrus and China Hero – can pose a strong challenge to John Moore's runner in this race.
In the Maple Handicap, Jolly Wongchoy snatched a wonderful wire-to-wire victory at Happy Valley last week. But I expect the pace of the race tonight to be on the good to fast side, and it will not help him as in last week. Both Ever King and Grand General, who are both capable to deliver strong dash in home straight, may benefit from the good pace.
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