And so, after 10 months of world-class competition and entertainment, tonight’s (16 July) season finale at Happy Valley marks the close of a truly outstanding chapter in Hong Kong’s racing long and distinguished history.
After 88 meetings and 847 races, the curtain will fall on a season shaped by the incredible feats of champion horses, jockeys and trainers who have again combined to showcase Hong Kong racing on the global stage.
The achievements of KA YING RISING, ROMANTIC WARRIOR and VOYAGE BUBBLE are well documented and, in combination, vividly illustate the quality of Hong Kong racing with a combined 10 Group 1s, 16 victories overall, three course records and prizemoney of HK$181.4 million this season.
Hong Kong’s Equine Titans – who are all independently recognised globally as part international horse racing’s elite – exemplify our city’s ‘can-do’ spirit, relentless quest for excellence and resilience and we are extremely proud of their accomplishments.
Similarly, we are privileged to have elite horsemen the calibre of John Size and Zac Purton, who continue to set towering standards in one of the most competitive racing jurisdictions in the world.
John’s effort to win a 13th Hong Kong trainers’ championship in his 24th season is simply remarkable. At 71, John is at the peak of his powers and his enduring excellence is matched by his sheer consistency with 40 individual winners so far among his 69 victories this season.
Aside from his 13 titles, John has finished second five times and third three times in the championship – evidence of the master trainer’s incredible capacity to repeatedly excel at the highest level.
Zac this season has overtaken Douglas Whyte’s record of 1,813 for the most wins in Hong Kong by a jockey and, having secured an eighth championship despite missing several meetings with injury, has now accumulated 1,876 wins and is rapidly bearing down on the 1,900-win milestone.
Zac’s passion and ambition continue to shine, and he remains the benchmark among our world-class jockey roster, which features exceptionally skilled riders from around the world as well as our homegrown talent.
Tonight’s season finale also marks the end of Benno Yung’s career as a trainer. Mentored by John Size, Benno has become a fine trainer in his own right and I thank him for his 49-year contribution to the Club and wish him all the best for the future.
I also thank jockeys Antoine Hamelin and Ben Thompson for their service as they return to France and Australia, respectively, to continue their careers, along with Alfred Chan, who is retiring as a jockey.
To celebrate a wonderful season, our Happy Wednesday Music Festival will be led by the extremely talented Rechelle Mansour in the Happy Valley Beer Garden tonight.
An international vocal and dance star, Rechelle has performed with some of the biggest names in international music and her dynamic personality and amazing vocals have proved incredibly popular with Happy Wednesday fans.
Attendees can enjoy Latino rhythms and Samba dancing between the final nine races of the season while there will also be a spectacular pyrotechnic show which will light up the sky after Race 5 at 8.38pm and the presentation of the Champion Griffin Award after Race 8 at 10.18pm.
Finally, the traditional jockeys’ parade will take place on the turf before the last race when our top-class riders will give out mini-horse plushies to fans to thank them for their support throughout the season.
While the majority of Hong Kong Champions Awards have been distributed, the Champion Griffin Award and Tony Cruz Award for leading homegrown jockey will be awarded tonight.
CROSSBORDERPEGASUS, MAGNIFIQUE and SKY JEWELLERY are all in contention for the Champion Griffin award, while Matthew Poon (36 wins), Matthew Chadwick (35) and Derek Leung (34) all have the chance to claim the coveted Tony Cruz Award with at least seven rides each.
The sporting highlight at Happy Valley is the Class 2 Lucky Patch Handicap, which is carded as Race 8 and will be run over 1200m at 10.10pm with prizemoney of HK$2.84 million.
The pace will be good with MAGIC CONTROL (Alfred Chan) likely to lead from gate two. FULL CREDIT (Matthew Poon) will be prominent along with BEAUTY WAVES (Zac Purton) and AURORA LADY (Andrea Atzeni).
BEAUTY WAVES is a short-course specialist who beat WUNDERBAR down Sha Tin’s straight 1000m course at Sha Tin on 28 June. He is a win and place chance from gate five.
RAGING BLIZZARD (Hugh Bowman) has won twice this season and has been consistent in three subsequent runs. Last start, RAGING BLIZZARD gave weight to WUNDERBAR at Sha Tin on 14 June and charged late to take second, beaten under a length. RAGING BLIZZARD has a good record at Happy Valley and, from gate three, is also a win and place chance.
KAHOLO ANGEL (Ellis Wong) has struck form brilliantly, winning three of his past four runs at this course and distance. On 4 June, KAHOLO ANGEL ran home strongly to beat COLOURFUL PRINCE and he is a place chance tonight.
AURORA LADY has won four times over the course and distance this season but will need luck from gate 12, while AERIS NOVA (Matthew Chadwick), STORM RIDER (Karis Teetan) and TOMODACHI KOKOROE (Harry Bentley) all have claims.
The last race of the season is the Class 3 Sun Jewellery Handicap, which is carded as Race 9 and will be run over 1200m at 10.50pm for prizemoney of HK$1.86 million.
The pace will be good with COPARTNER FLEET (Matthew Poon) the likely leader. FRANCIS MEYNELL (Dylan Mo) will be prominent from gate two. Newcomer CHILL BUDDY (Ellis Wong) has shown pace in trials and will be handy to the lead and THRIVING BROTHERS (Matthew Chadwick) will go forward from gate 10.
DRAGON FOUR SEAS (Zac Purton) is in outstanding form, having won four of his past five runs, all at this course and distance. DRAGON FOUR SEAS doesn’t have to lead to win and, despite giving all his rivals significant weight, he is a win and place chance.
YOUNG ARROW (Andrea Atzeni) ran on well for third to DRAGON FOUR SEAS last start and, from gate three, YOUNG ARROW is also a win and place chance.
COPARTNER FLEET has shown good speed leading at both of his starts at Sha Tin over 1200m and at his latest comfortably held off LOVEISINTHEAIR on 28 June. This represents a significant rise in class, but COPARTNER FLEET has obvious talent and he is a place chance.
VICTOR THE RAPID (Antoine Hamelin) backs up quicky after a dominant win in Class 4 here last week and STORMING DRAGON (Ben Thompson) is racing well without winning and is a place chance.
CHILL BUDDY is an interesting runner making his Hong Kong debut for Ricky You. CHILL BUDDY easily won his only race start in Australia and was an impressive trial winner at Conghua on 3 July.
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