As a not-for-profit organisation and the city’s largest charitable benefactor, the Club has long played an important role in local heritage preservation and cultural and arts development. On Monday, we announced our participation in two major cultural and heritage projects, underlining the Club’s continued commitment in these areas.
If you haven't had the opportunity to visit the Shanghai World Expo over the past few months, you will soon have the opportunity to see one of the star attractions of the China Pavilion, a huge animated version of the world-renowned Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival, here in Hong Kong. The Jockey Club Charities Trust has pledged funding of HK$10 million to enable the Government to recreate this memorable experience at the Asia-World Expo in Chek Lap Kok next month.
The original painting depicts the daily lives of people in the ancient Chinese capital some 1,000 years ago, and the animated version brings all their actions to life. Those of my friends and colleagues who've visited the World Expo have been absolutely enchanted by this exhibit, and we believe that Hong Kong people will love it, too. To make sure that students and the needy also get the chance to sample this unique experience, part of our sponsorship will go into providing subsidised transport to the venue for some 200,000 students, the elderly and disabled people. I hope all of you will take the precious chance to see this famous artwork in Hong Kong.
Also on Monday, we unveiled our revised design for the conservation and revitalisation of the Central Police Station Compound, one of the city's largest and most important heritage sites. This huge project, which we committed in 2007 to take forward at a cost of up to HK$1.8 billion, will involve the preservation of 16 buildings with historical and architectural significance and the addition of two new buildings, the Old Bailey Wing and Arbuthnot Wing, to provide a range of arts and cultural facilities such as galleries, libraries, and performance venues, ultimately on a self-sustaining basis.
The project is due for completion in 2014 and we hope the revitalised compound will become a major new focal point for both local residents and visitors, recalling Hong Kong's unique history and the collective memories of its citizens.
Besides supporting heritage, arts and culture, the Club has always given strong support to local sports development, being a major local sporting operator itself. Tonight at Happy Valley Racecourse we will be hosting the South China Athletic Association Centenary Cup, in honour of one of our longest-standing neighbours in the Happy Valley area.
Although the South China football team is the SCAA's best-known sporting name, having long been a powerhouse in the local game, the Association plays an active role in promoting many other local sports and has some 55,000 members in total. Many key figures in the SCAA, including current President Yue Yung-hing, Chairman Victor Hui and football team convenor Steven Lo, are also horse owners who have offered great support to the racing scene for many years. I hope the SCAA will continue to flourish in the years to come.
The Club is also keen to develop our young “athletes” – the up-and-coming juvenile horses – as they represent the new force and offer new dynamics to our sport of racing. Today we have announced the voting results of the My Rising Stars campaign, which has given our racing fans the chance to vote for their favourite young runners. I’m delighted to learn that we received more than 150,000 votes from the public, with National Day Cup winner Lucky Nine topping the standings. I wish to again thank for your staunch support to this campaign.
Getting back to our races tonight, I think the SCAA Centenary Cup is a very competitive race even with only 10 starters. With the expected slow pace, it will help horses racing close to the pace. Dennis Yip-trained Super Caga should take the lead, with Great Bauhinia and Vitality Express just sitting behind him. This should give Vitality Express, who notched up his maiden victory in Hong Kong a fortnight ago, a good chance to win this race. Fluke, who was narrowly defeated at the same distance in his last start, as well as Kenobe and Victory Mascot, both Valley performers who ran fairly last time on this racetrack, are also capable to finish close in this event.
In the Caroline Hill Handicap, it should be run at a good to fast pace, which should help horses to make up ground from the back, especially for a horse like Little Dreams. This four-year-old have already started twice at Sha Tin this season, and in both occasions, he just trailed about two lengths behind the race winners. This will be his second start at the Valley and I’m interested to see how he performs tonight. Reliable runner Easy Winner, and Happy Tumbler, who won twice at the same course and distance last season, are also some key contenders in this mile race. Having won his season debut last time, Jumbo Gold will be stepping up in distance from 1200m to 1650m for the first time. It will be of little concern but I think he can still have a good chance to get a close finish in this race.
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