On Thursday we hosted the first Happy Valley day race meeting of the season, and it proved very successful. We're always mindful of Chinese traditions when doing our race scheduling, and I know that the Mid-Autumn Festival is a very important date for family gathering, so that's why we moved the normal Wednesday night meeting to a Thursday afternoon on this occasion.
There was a great atmosphere at the city track, and our racing fans also gave this special meeting strong betting support, as the day's turnover reached HK$933 million, the highest so far this season.
I'm also pleased to see that the number of declared runners seems to be returned to normal. On Thursday, a total of 115 runners contested the 10 races, just five short of the full field number. Similarly, we will have 134 horses featuring in the 10 races at Sha Tin tomorrow. This is in line with what I said at the start of the season, that it would take about two to three weeks for the fields to get back to normal levels and the turnover to catch up. I believe there will be even more excitement for our racing fans now.
As the season gets into gear, more trainers are also started to step up their horses’ preparations and test their fitness in barrier trials. Our regular barrier trials yesterday morning drew a very encouraging response, with 10 batches of runners put through their paces at Sha Tin. Among them were some well-established runners like Sacred Kingdom, Super Satin and Able One, as well as rising stars like Lucky Nine.
It's not difficult to deduce that these horses are being prepared to appear in pattern races later in the season. I was especially delighted to see Sacred Kingdom, who has recovered well from his colic attack in March, completed a successful trial yesterday. I'm sure we all hope to see this world-class sprinter return to top form this season, starting in the Group 3 Sha Tin Sprint Trophy in the National Day Cup raceday next Friday.
Before that, we have another meeting at Sha Tin tomorrow. For those who like to drive to the racecourse, can I give you a gentle reminder to drive safely and not cross the continuous white line to reach the racecourse exit when you're heading up the Tolo Highway. Though you might think it would be quicker by cutting the continuous white line from the right at that juncture, it's not worth the risk, as you will get a fine of HK$450 and three driving-offence points - not to mention the fact that it delays your own journey and holds up other motorists at the Police road block!
When you arrive the racecourse tomorrow, I hope you will thoroughly enjoy our 10 races on the card. In the Yan Chai Trophy, old guards like Magic Temple and Century Super Star will face upcoming runners such as Smart Choice and Perfect Fit. I expect a good to slow pace in the race should enable Perfect Fit, who performed well in the trial, to cross and lead. He should have a good place chance in this 1200m all-weather track event.
In this race, the horse I like the most is Andy Leung’s Smart Choice. Even he has gone up in class, he has shown great progress in his emphatic win over the same distance and course a fortnight ago. He just needs to carry a light weight tomorrow and I’ll see how he performs in this race. With the pace not on the fast side, Magic Temple, who notched up an outstanding victory in his first start as a 10-year-old last time, will set rallying late, adding his difficulties to catch the front runners. However, it will be interesting to see Flying Colours coming back and I think he could be the surprise horse in this race.
In the Cheung Shan Handicap, we will see two of our Rising Stars - London China Town and Good Words – clashing in this 1200m race. However, it will not be a walk in the park for them as they will meet proven opposition. The pace should be good and gives a level playing field for all runners.
For London China Town, he was drawn to start from Gate 13 and he will likely to go back, which will make his task more difficult. Even I expect him to improve from his last run over 1000m, he’s still not yet in top form. With his usual rider Douglas Whyte switched to ride Enriched, I think this three-year-old will have chance to finish close in this event. Perfect Gear from Gate 12 will have to push after the start to get to a good position. So do Good Words from Gate 6. Personally, I prefer Good Words more as he appears to me to have better potential, and he has been working well at the trackwork recently. Having made a decent run in an all-weather event a fortnight ago, St Didar now gets fitter and I think he’s another runner who is capable to challenge other key contenders.
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