With the final chapters of the 2021/22 season about to unfold, it is remarkable to think that after 806 races across 85 meetings, the three major Hong Kong racing championships – leading jockey, top trainer and Tony Cruz Award – are still undecided.
Hong Kong racing’s famed competitiveness has rarely been more apparent than this season with Zac Purton leading Joao Moreira 131-129 in the jockeys’ championship, while Frankie Lor holds sway 90-84 over John Size in the race for the trainers’ title and Matthew Chadwick (53) shades Vincent Ho (48) and Derek Leung (44) in the battle for the Tony Cruz Award as the best performed home-grown rider.
With 30 races to be decided before the end of the season, there is still plenty of water to go under the bridge and momentum will be crucial throughout the closing stages of another memorable campaign.
With doubles on Wednesday night (6 July), Frankie and Zac certainly did their championship prospects no harm, while Matthew and Vincent squared the ledger with a win apiece to maintain the status quo.
I look forward to the respective battles continuing at Sha Tin on Sunday (10 July) when we celebrate Chairmen’s Day to honour the contribution of the Club’s former Chairmen.
The Hong Kong International Sale at Sha Tin on Saturday (9 July) was again a success and I was impressed with the way 17 well-prepared horses were presented. Obviously, our customers also appreciated the quality on offer and we are satisfied with the result.
The sale-topping lot – a Deep Field gelding – sold for HK$7.8 million and a Starspangledbanner gelding brought HK$7 million as the sale realised $71 million overall. Four individual lots realised HK$5 million or more as the sales average reached $4.17 million.
One reason for the high average was the very stringent preparation process which we followed in deciding not to bring a significant number of horses to Hong Kong, which in the end resulted in an overall loss of the sale, but our focus is on providing a quality service to owners and to improve the quality of racing in Hong Kong.
These results demonstrate the optimism of owners in Hong Kong going into the future. I would also like to thank the consignors in both the northern and southern hemispheres for the fantastic work they have done in preparing all of these young horses. In particular, I thank Michael Kinane and Craig Rounsefell for selecting the horses and subsequently the great job by Tim Boland and Brian Meehan in preparing them for the Hong Kong International Sale and I wish owners all the best with their new acquisitions.
Off course this week, I had the good fortune to visit the Club’s Central Stanley Street Shop, which is regarded as “the luckiest” Off-Course Betting Branch (“OCBB”) in Hong Kong, following its reopening after an extensive 11-month renovation.
The refurbished four-storey Stanley Street Shop is certainly one of the most impressive OCBBs in Hong Kong, boasting world-class catering facilities and leisure and digital betting services in one location, a demonstration of the Club’s commitment to creating a whole new entertainment experience for our customers.
Our business is founded on being customer-centric and the Stanley Street Shop offers a convenient location for friends to gather at happy hour or after work as it is situated in near Lan Kwai Fong and near the Central business and entertainment district.
Our customers can enjoy great food in quality restaurants, while watching live racing and football broadcasts with friends. Apart from offering a complete experience, encompassing social festivity, food, entertainment and excitement, the Stanley Street Shop has produced 47 first-prize Mark Six winning tickets since 1994 – more than any other OCBB.
The Chow Silver Plate is a Class 2 handicap over 1400 metres and the final race of the Sunday race meeting with four of the 14 runners eligible for a High Achievement Bonus. Decisive Twelve is the clear leader in the race as he steps up in trip for a first attempt over the course and distance and will set a genuine pace with Alex Lai riding. Last-start winner Keefy, under Joao Moreira, will push forward to take up a handy position, along with Private Rocket and Lyle Hewitson.
Keefy will get a nice run from behind the leaders and has shown steady improvement since arriving from Australia. He overcame a wide barrier and a difficult run to win impressively last month and is a win and place chance to repeat. With many of the top contenders coming from the back, Keefy will have a tactical advantage on the C+3 track.
Captain Win had an eventful trip in his last start and still managed to finish a respectable fourth. Zac Purton takes the return engagement and will need to work out a trip from a wide draw. Captain Win will go back and will be closing late as a place chance.
Beauty Fit comes off a career-best effort when he was held up trying to make his run and still finished a good second when facing strong Class 2 opposition. He will be further back in the run from his wide draw but his last effort makes him a place chance with Alexis Badel taking the return engagement. Ruan Maia is reunited with Navas Two and will have it all to do from gate 14. He will drop back and then make one big run down the middle of the track. Maia has enjoyed good success with Navas Two, combining to win three consecutive races earlier in the season, and they are a place chance in what shapes up as an exciting finale.
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