While I hope our racing fans have been enjoying the summer break, with the 2023/24 racing season commencing soon on 10 September, some of our star jockeys and horses are already gearing up in preparation for another successful term.
After returning recently from a brief summer break, last week I was honoured, in my capacity as President of the International Horse Sports Confederation (IHSC), to join Vice-President Ingmar De Vos in leading a senior IHSC delegation on a multi-day visit to the Mainland to meet with key local ministries and equine sports bodies. As the first major IHSC engagement in the Mainland, the visit focused on developing a deeper understanding of how the IHSC can contribute to and support the development of the country’s equine sports under the National Equine Industry Development Plan 2020-2025, launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the General Administration of Sport of China.
The visit provided a platform for the IHSC to share experiences, ideas and expertise across various aspects of the global equine industry chain that may assist Mainland authorities in the execution of the development plan. It also served to further strengthen cooperation between the IHSC and key stakeholders in the Mainland – particularly in the strategic areas of veterinary care, capacity and skill building, quarantine and horse movement – to develop a holistic and sustainable equine value chain in the Mainland.
During the five-day visit, the delegation travelled to Beijing, Hangzhou and Guangzhou, where we met with the sports minister, the agriculture minister, and leaders of various government authorities and national equine industry associations. We also toured local horse sports facilities, including the Tonglu Equestrian Centre and other venues and facilities of the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games.
We spent the last two days in Conghua and visited Conghua Racecourse, taking a look at our world-class training facilities. The delegation was impressed by the Club’s determination to ensure horse welfare and by how much we have done to provide the best environment and facilities for the training and rehabilitation of racehorses, such as the aqua treadmill and equine spa equipment, which have been highly praised by our dual-site trainers.
Over the past years the Club has invested significantly in training our local staff at the facility, which has also contributed in no small way to creating over 700 job opportunities in Conghua.
Out of the 500 locally-trained racing staff, many of them have gone on to become top-class horseman, demonstrating skills, knowledge, and most importantly a strong passion and love for the horses. I have heard multiple praises about them from our Trainers and Stable management, for example the farriers are highly regarded by our Master Farrier as demonstrating absolute professionalism. We are glad that we could enable people to work with passion for horses and that they find a meaningful career with the Club. In this respect, I must thank especially our Hong Kong secondees for their unfailing support in training up the local team in Conghua and generously sharing their expertise and professional skill.
During the visit, we were able to witness the dedication, hard work and heartfelt care of our Conghua-based staff during their day-to-day work, which is most critical in creating so many successful stories in Hong Kong racing.
Last season, we witnessed a total of 138 Conghua-trained horses collect 172 wins in Hong Kong’s 835 races, including the Group 3 victor Senor Toba and talented sprinter Victor The Winner. The delegation was also excited and impressed to see last season’s LONGINES Hong Kong Mile hero California Spangle enjoying a great time at his Conghua stable before preparing for his main targets next term, including December’s LONGINES HKIR.
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