I hope you haven't been feeling too bored during the past week, when we've had a rare break in the local racing programme. I've missed my midweek racing too, though the break has provided a good opportunity for my colleagues and I to catch up on other pressing work – especially the final planning for this year's Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races, which are now only six weeks away.
Earlier this week, we unveiled the list of jockeys who we have invited to take part in the opening event of International Races week, the Cathay Pacific International Jockeys’ Championship to be staged at our Happy Valley night meeting on 8 December.
This contest has now become a very popular and well-respected curtain raiser for the International Races, attracting some of the world's very best jockeys to Hong Kong to test their skills on our challenging city racetrack. To add further excitement to the event, we are extending the series to four races this year, which will give the visiting riders more opportunity to demonstrate their world-beating talents to our local racing fans.
Past champions such as Christophe Soumillon, Christophe Lemaire, Ryan Moore and Johnny Murtagh will return to Hong Kong, each bidding for a second success in the championship. I'm delighted that we shall also be bringing in some very talented new faces, with five more top jockeys making their debut in the series this year, all of them champion jockeys in the countries or regions where they are based.
They include Eclipse Award champion jockey Julien Leparoux from the US, Sydney’s champion jockey Nash Rawiller, last year’s Japanese champion Hiroyuki Uchida and Brazilian Joao Moreira, who currently leads the Singapore jockeys' championship by a huge margin.
The last of the five, Anton Marcus, will be an old friend to many in Hong Kong racing circles, as he previously rode in Hong Kong as a Club jockey. He currently rides in his native South Africa, where he has been champion rider for the past two seasons.
The participation of so many leading jockeys from around the world underlines the high recognition and status that our International Races Week now commands, and certainly makes our International Jockeys' Championship series one of the most competitive in the sport. I’m sure we shall be in for a real treat come 8 December.
However, there's plenty of world-class sporting action to look forward to this weekend as well, as during the morning and early afternoon today we have just brought you simulcasts of six races from the Victoria Derby meeting at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, four of them Group One events including the Derby itself and Mackinnon Stakes.
Later in the afternoon, the Australian and New Zealand national rugby teams – the Wallabies and All Blacks – will meet in the fourth and final match of this year’s Bledisloe Cup at Hong Kong Stadium. All Blacks won last year’s contest with a clean sweep, and they also won the first three matches played in Melbourne, Christchurch and Sydney this year. I believe many rugby fans will be interested to see if they can repeat their feat at the stadium today.
Tomorrow there will be more racing to enjoy as we will host our regular Sunday afternoon meeting, but this time at Happy Valley. So it really promises to be a thrilling weekend. Among the 10 races in tomorrow’s card, I think the Community Chest Cup is a very competitive event and the expected good pace should give every horse a chance. Amityship is in good form and he should be well placed with the nice draw. As a progeny of King George winner Pentire, I think the step up in distance should not be a problem for him. John Size’s Absolute Hedge stayed on well in his last race. With a good position, I think he should also be in the finish. However, the two horses I like most in this 1800m event are Antipasto and Jolly Good. Antipasto is in hitting form and his last run with a strong finish was quite impressive. Jolly Good who is for me the horse to beat, as his last run at the distance was very good, defeated by Victory Mascot in less than two lengths. With the Derek Leung claiming five pounds and starting from Gate 1, I think he has a lot going in his favour.
For the Federation of Hong Kong Industries 50th Anniversary Cup, it is expected to be run at a good pace. With the favourite horses drawn well, I think it will be a very open race. Manfred Man’s Super Boy is working well recently. With the favourable draw of Gate 2, he has a very good chance in this race. Turf Magic also showed sound improvement in his victory in his season debut earlier this month. He will also be a key contender in this trophy race. Consistent runner Island Super performs nicely at trackwork, along with another improving runner Fresh Air, they can also finish close in this race.
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