Even by Hong Kong standards, the pace of life in the racing world is something out of the ordinary at the moment.
Hard on the heels of a memorable BMW Hong Kong Derby, the entries have been published for FWD Champions Day.
It is great to see 38 individual G1 winners entered for the three G1 contests – ten more than at the corresponding stage last year – and a tremendous day awaits at Sha Tin on 28 April.
However, we also have another hugely significant day much closer to hand as we stage the first ever Exhibition Raceday at Conghua Racecourse on Saturday.
The ten-year journey that has brought us to this historic occasion has been long and memorable.
It started with an agreement to support the Equestrian events at the 2010 Asian Games and the progress has been relentless ever since.
Site development began in 2011 and ground breaking followed in 2012 for one of the most ambitious projects the Jockey Club has ever undertaken.
Challenges have been met and overcome along the way, with the first trial movements of horses between Hong Kong and Conghua completed and in 2016 and the turf and All Weather tracks finished in 2017.
Last year featured some very important milestones, with the first in-training horses arriving from Hong Kong in July and the first barrier trials completed soon after.
A new era for Hong Kong and Guangdong relations dawned with Conghua’s official opening ceremony late last August and we now look forward to the inaugural Exhibition Raceday at a world-class racing, training and equestrian site which is fully functional and thriving.
The first Hong Kong winner trained from Conghua came when Danny Shum’s Most Beautiful scored at Happy Valley on 5 September and the historic first winner of an official race at Conghua came at just after 2.30 on Saturday afternoon when Nordic Warrior won the Hong Kong Jockey Club Trophy for Richard Gibson and Matthew Chadwick.
The running total of winners trained at Conghua following their last start now stands at 53 – including three winners on this week’s Happy Valley card – but it is also important to stress that Conghua has a vital role to play as a platform to support the local tourist industry and the development of a thriving equine industry in the Greater Bay Area.
The hard work and vision of many people in the Central Government, Guangdong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong over the last decade has helped build something unique in the world of equine sport.
Our thanks go out to all who have contributed to this amazing project. Hong Kong owners and trainers have supported this historic card with their usual enthusiasm and I am confident that their horses and our star jockeys will put on a fantastic show that will give everyone present a vivid impression of what makes world-class racing such a wonderful sport.
In Sunday’s Class 2 Kowloon Cricket Club Centenary Cup at Sha Tin, the pace will be on the slow side for the mile feature with Right Choice, Easy Go Easy Win and Epic as the early leaders.
Right Choice added blinkers in January and proceeded to roll through Class 3 company with three consecutive wins over 1400m. He steps up in class and trip for his first opportunity at claiming the Club’s HK $850,000 High Achievement Bonus to any horse that can win achieve a first-ever Class 2 win before reaching the age of five.
This will be a sit and sprint contest, which may help Right Choice as he attempts the mile distance for the first time. He is a win and place chance, getting 16lb from Time To Celebrate under the handicap conditions.
Time To Celebrate won his last start a month ago over the course and distance in a similarly run race with a slow pace. He will have to carry the top weight this time but is in top form and is a solid place chance. Dances With Dragon and Sacred Ibis are going well. Both are place chances coming from the back under light weights.
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