Monday was a notable day in Hong Kong’s ongoing fight against Coronavirus, with zero new infections recorded in the city for the first time in six weeks.
Clearly, it is highly encouraging to see that the range of measures put in place to combat a second wave of infections has had a positive effect but caution and vigilance remain essential.
All key metrics show that Hong Kong and its people have handled the challenges of this pandemic highly efficiently so far and, if current trends continue, our city can eventually move on to the next phase with a gradual and measured relaxation of some safety measures.
The Club will be ready to modify measures that have helped us keep racing in the public interest when the time is right, but for the moment we take heart from current trends as we approach an FWD Champions Day that places Hong Kong racing in the spotlight like never before.
International Commingling remains a key growth area for our sport and last Sunday’s figure of HK$297 million – which represented almost 20 per cent of the highest single meeting turnover figure since the pandemic started – shows that global interest in our world-class racing is at an all-time high.
And that growing interest from abroad presents us with a great opportunity to promote our flagship spring event as widely as possible to a sporting world that is likely to remain in lockdown for some while yet.
Fortunately, we have a string of compelling storylines in play, headed by Beauty Generation’s bid to become the first horse ever to win the Champions Mile three times and also including an ongoing duel between two of the world’s greatest riders as Zac Purton and Joao Moreira go head to head for the jockeys’ championship.
Add in the presence of our champion middle distance stayer Exultant going in against old rival Time Warp in the QEII Cup and the latest battle between some top-class sprinters in the Chairman’s Prize and it is clear we have a wonderful weekend in store.
More so than ever at this crucial period in history, Champions Day puts Hong Kong racing at the top of the sports agenda. Fans from all over the world are hungry for top-class live action and, thanks to the way our city has adapted to huge challenges, we are in position to provide them with a true celebration of what Hong Kong racing is all about.
On a related topic, the Club has decided to review the closing date for applications for new horse permits. The window was due to close next Monday but we have received multiple requests to extend because complications caused by the current situation – with social distancing measures and many people having to work from home for an extended period – have made it difficult to complete the process in time.
In addition, the fact that racing in so many countries has been stopped for a significant period of time means that the numbers of previously raced horses qualified to come to Hong Kong at a rating of 68 has already been impacted significantly. This situation is set to continue going forward which in turn will make it more difficult to fill the quota.
I believe that the prices for suitable Private Purchases will come down due to prize money cuts in other jurisdictions. If that is so then it is in principle a good time to buy, especially as we are considering a further increase in prize money. However, in the light of the two latest developments we will review the closing of horse permit applications and also the quotas for Private Purchases and Privately Purchased Griffins.
Wednesday’s nine-race card at Happy Valley takes place on the C+3 course – which tends to place emphasis on the draw and track position – and Zac will be looking to take advantage of the fact that Joao is suspended with eight rides including the progressive Larson in the concluding Cornflower Handicap over 1000m.
A true pace looks assured for this Class 3 dash, with the speedy Classic Unicorn set to roll forward from the inside gate on his Valley debut and Zac pushing forward to chase him from stall 10 aboard Larson. Baltic Whisper and Aquila will use their low barriers to chase the pace with Allied Agility, while Explosive Witness will challenge from midfield and California Archer may have to take back from stall 11.
Classic Unicorn looked good winning his first two starts and has trialled well both at Conghua and Sha Tin having been off since December. The fact that he has won a trial here at the Valley is also worth noting, while Larson had several of this field behind when winning nicely from stall 9 over course and distance two weeks ago and is a win and place chance with Zac aboard for the first time despite another wide gate.
Explosive Witness ran well for fifth behind Larson and is lightly raced enough to suggest he can do better but perhaps the main danger to Larson this time is Aquila. Jimmy Ting’s gelding ran well for a long way until the effort of trying to offset stall 12 took its toll here last month. He looks at least a place chance back at 1000m with Victor Wong reducing his burden by 5lb, while Allied Agility is another with place potential in an interesting contest.
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