Sunday 8 December will go down as one of the most significant days in Hong Kong racing history.
That is a bold statement considering what has gone before but I firmly believe it is true for any number of reasons.
The last six months have been extremely challenging for every citizen of Hong Kong and a series of significant sporting and cultural events have fallen by the wayside as a result.
However, the Club were absolutely determined to continue with HKIR week provided it was safe and sensible to do so for all concerned and the fact that our biggest week of the year went off in such a successful manner is a source of huge pride to many people who helped make it happen.
The list of memorable moments is a long one and not just from Sunday itself.
Karis Teetan moved his career to a new level by beating an outstanding field in Wednesday’s IJC and Frankie Dettori was honoured as the World’s Best Jockey for the third time at Friday’s Gala Dinner.
And then at Sha Tin on Sunday we had the sort of day that showcased so much that is good about international racing.
Glory Vase moved firmly into the world’s elite middle distance horses with his runaway win in the Vase under Joao Moreira.
Joao struck again when our champion sprinter Beat The Clock wore down Hot King Prawn and Aethero in the Sprint and in doing so John Size’s gelding completed a clean sweep of all three of Hong Kong’s 1200m G1 contests run in 2019.
We were well aware going into the weekend that Japan had an extremely strong team. That was confirmed when Admire Mars swooped late under Christophe Soumillon in the Mile and Win Bright confirmed what a potent force he is at Sha Tin by following up his QEII Cup success with a dramatic defeat of the unlucky Magic Wand in the Cup.
This is the first time since 2001 that Japan has won three of our four G1 contests on HKIR day – and our congratulations go out to them for a wonderful year on the global stage – but there were many other notable points to take away from the day as a whole.
It was always inevitable that the crowd would be down given the current circumstances but Hong Kong race fans are highly enthusiastic and there was still a real buzz around Sha Tin during the big races.
The fact that turnover came in at a record HK$1.71 billion with comingling up by almost 30 per cent provides further proof of how much interest there is in our sport both at home and abroad but those figures are not the key themes.
By far and away our biggest priority for this year’s HKIR was to enable Hong Kong to put on another world-class racing event in a way that showcases the very best of our sport and our city to as many people as possible.
Thanks to the amazing dedication of so many people we were able to do just that. This was, without question, one of the most complicated and challenging projects the Club has ever been involved in. The feedback we are receiving from all over the world tells us that it was the right thing to do and we can now move forward with optimism that our sport and the fans who follow it can continue to thrive together.
Moving on to Wednesday’s Happy Valley card, we celebrate a Swedish-themed night with ABBA legend Benny Andersson as a special guest and leading tribute band BABBA playing in the Beer Garden.
The Class 4 Swedish Cup is the fifth race of the night and will be run over 1200m at a modest pace. Confucius Day will need to use his speed from an outside barrier to make the running with E Generation.
Dr Respect trialled well after his first-up run six weeks ago and should get every chance from the box seat. He is a win and place chance.
Confucius Day has finished in the top three in three of four races this season at Happy Valley over the course and distance and gets the services of Zac Purton for the first time. He is also a win and place chance.
Casimiro has shown improvement in each of his last two starts and performed well most recently behind a loose-on-the-lead winner. He is a place chance along with Hero Time, a horse that will do his best work over the concluding stages.
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