I hope you're all enjoying a very happy Christmas holiday with your families and friends. This season we've arranged our festive race meeting on the final day of the holiday, instead of on Boxing Day as we've been doing in past seasons, so to give our fans a long X'mas holiday.
Earlier this week I read a news report about the latest developments on the construction of Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, as His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum paid a visit to the site and inspected the progress of this new track.
During my last visit to Dubai in March this year, I attended a presentation session about Meydan and I must admit I was very impressed with the work plan. The grandstand will be able to accommodate 60,000 spectators, while a five-star hotel will also be built adjacent to the racecourse.
Although the Dubai Investment Company has been severely hit by financial difficulties recently, creating uncertainty about the emirate's economic prospects, it seems that the problem has been temporarily settled. This should ensure that the construction of the racecourse stays on schedule and it's ready for hosting the Dubai World Cup races next March.
In fact, the Dubai Racing Club will arrange just 10 racedays in the coming racing season, starting on 28 January. Even though there is no year-round racing in Dubai, the operator is still willing to make substantial investments in the racecourse, recognising that constant revitalisation is needed to maintain the sport's competitiveness.
In Hong Kong, the outstanding performances of our top runners against leading overseas challengers in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races again showed that some of our racehorses have real quality, and that the standards of our races are among the best in the world. I think what we need now is to continue enhancing the hardware of local racing, most prominently by providing more top-class training and racecourse facilities.
Our Racecourse Master Plan and Conghua Training Centre will definitely be important investments for the long-term development of Hong Kong racing. Being a renowned workaholic, I've devoted a lot of effort into the planning of these major projects with a strong belief that they are essential for the sustainability of our racing product. It's my new year wish that these projects can get under way smoothly for the coming years.
Although we look forward to these long-term investments, I think that our racecourses already offer some very attractive venues for an entertaining day out with friends and relatives over the festive season. Tomorrow, you can again capture the excitement of racing during the 10 race-programme we've arranged at Sha Tin. It is an interesting race meeting with three AWT sprints and a pair of turf races at the staying distance of 2000 meters.
In the Ho Chung Handicap, I will have particular interest in China Hero as he has developed into a consistent sprinter in this class. King Of Hearts and Brothers In Arms are both improving and could handle the all-weather surface. I think both of them could challenge China Hero in this event.
In the Ho Chung Handicap, I will have particular interest in China Hero as he has developed into a consistent sprinter in this class. King Of Hearts and Brothers In Arms are both improving and could handle the all-weather surface. I think both of them could challenge China Hero in this event.
In the Tsam Chuk Wan Handicap, the first of our two 2000m races, Spinnaker steps up in distance again and has a good chance to show continued improvement. I will not be surprised if he could land the second win consecutively.
Talking about the Class 1 Chek Keng Handicap, all eyes will be on King Dancer as the Derby hopeful tries the Derby distance for the first time. Trainer Sean Woods has his promising prospect moving in the right direction with Gallant Champion also a horse of interest for Tony Cruz as he moves up in grade and is in light at the weights. Let's see if the six-year-old could stage a challenge to King Dancer.
Talking about the Class 1 Chek Keng Handicap, all eyes will be on King Dancer as the Derby hopeful tries the Derby distance for the first time. Trainer Sean Woods has his promising prospect moving in the right direction with Gallant Champion also a horse of interest for Tony Cruz as he moves up in grade and is in light at the weights. Let's see if the six-year-old could stage a challenge to King Dancer.
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