The thrill of being at the races on the first day of a new season never gets old and, even without our usual crowd of 50,000 or more, Sunday at Sha Tin provided a perfect window into why Hong Kong’s world-class racing resonates all around the world.
Racing fans from far and wide had a big story to focus on when Moneymore and Metro Warrior gave David Hayes two winners on the first day of phase two of his Hong Kong career, while European fans had a significant success to cheer when Alexis Badel marked the opening day of his first full season with us by winning the featured HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup on Perfect Match.
Joao Moreira and Zac Purton got back down to business with three and two winners apiece, while John Size made an unusually fast start with a double and has clearly used his summer in Hong Kong to hit the ground running.
But, amid so many strong newslines, the return of David was clearly the most significant. Replacing a trainer of John Moore’s standing was never going to be an easy task for the Club but David was the standout candidate in every key department. It was great to see him link up with Keith Yeung for his first winner and, although these are early days, there is every reason to believe he will be a major player on the Hong Kong stage again for years to come.
All our data informs us that racing fans respond best to programmes that blend full fields with strong competition and star names, so it was no surprise to see betting interest in Sunday’s card was high. Even so, the fact that turnover hit a new opening day record of HK$1.376 billion – with local and commingling levels up by 4.6 and 18 per cent making for a total rise of 6.8 per cent – was the best start we could have possibly hoped for.
By way of illustration, wagering on America’s most famous race the Kentucky Derby – which took place around six hours before racing got under way at Sha Tin – was down 52 per cent on the 2019 figure with total turnover for the day returning HK$977 million.
In contrast to Kentucky, the figures for Saratoga’s big summer meetings have been similar to our own, with turnover down only marginally due to their investment in advance deposit wagering platforms. This is why we continued to digitalise our offering with developments like the e-Wallet.
The fact that our record figures were produced for a meeting run behind closed doors with Off-Course Betting Branches closed on raceday makes them even more significant and the agility our customers have shown in moving online to adapt to the new normal has been amazing to witness.
We now move to our first Happy Valley meeting full of hope that racing can continue to stand tall against adversity and looking forward to resuming Mark Six draws from 24 September in alignment with Government’s gradual relaxation of COVID-19 measures.
Many people have asked why this decision was not taken earlier and the rationale is simple. As you will appreciate, the need to avoid public health risks means that Mark Six services can only be offered via online and Telebet channels for the moment.
If the pandemic continues to stabilise we will resume sale of tickets at OCBB’s in the fourth quarter of 2020 but, in the meantime, we have made a dedicated effort to create a special HKJC e-Wallet. This development makes it easy for customers to participate, with e-Wallet opening achievable in as little as six minutes. And, just as importantly, the e-Wallet will also enable many thousands of customers to continue participating in Mark Six draws even in the event that OCBB’s have to be closed again due to public health concerns.
Initially, draws will be held only once a week, with the first three draws on 24 September, 29 September and 8 October. Customers can visit OCBB’s in advance to set up their HKJC e-Wallets, while tickets for the first draw after resumption can be purchased from 17 September via Telebet, eWin, Classic 3-in-1, and MangoPRO App.
We now move on to our first Happy Valley meeting of the season. It will be some time before the world’s most famous city track is buzzing with a big crowd again but we are making plans to create a virtual Beer Garden experience and a protocol to ensure December’s LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship goes ahead with as many star riders as possible. That is all for the future, but for the moment we move forward after an excellent opening day, full of hope that our sport can continue to stand tall in the face of adversity.
Two sections of the Class 3 Causeway Bay Handicap over 1200m headline Wednesday’s card as the final races and California Rad is a win and place chance in Race 7 based on a number of factors, including an excellent trial and outstanding form over course and distance.
Little Bird and Flying Bonus will make the running and the pace will be fast. California Rad will secure a position just behind the leaders and regular rider Karis Teetan will get every chance. The only concern is the 133lb assignment but his trial suggests he is ready to bring his best.
Victory Power, Little Bird and Triple Triple, who has trialled well at Conghua in preparation for his first start at the Valley, are all place chances.
In the final race, Fantasy drops in grade and is a win and place chance from his inside draw despite carrying maximum weight. He is a horse that runs well fresh and he trialled well with Moreira.
California Gungho, Loriz and Stanley Park will establish a good pace with Fantasy and Poised To Strike in close contention. Keep You Warm, Poised To Strike and California Gungho are place chances with the last-named having good form on a rain affected track. Poised To Strike reunites with trainer David Hayes and showed good improvement in his recent trial.
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