Last Sunday we saw our top-rated four-year-old Lucky Nine win the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Mile in style at Sha Tin Racecourse. Jockey Brett Prebble settled the horse nicely about two lengths off the pace in this HK$6 million domestic Group 1 event, then broke clear to the front in the straight. From then on he never looked in danger of being caught, despite John Moore’s Derby hopeful Xtension closing in at the final stages.
In my view it was an exceptional performance, particularly as it was the horse’s first-ever start at the mile. Brett told me that Lucky Nine is still very green and learning, but he firmly believes the horse is very special. I would also agree with Caspar’s comments after the race that the horse is an international star in the making.
It remains uncertain whether he will take part in the second and final race of the four-year-old series, the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Cup over 1800m and the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby over 2000m. But if it’s my horse, I would skip the Derby and focus on the Champions Mile after the stunning performance on Sunday. I think he could turn into the best miler in Hong Kong if not in Asia.
It is always exciting to see these young prospects performing so well at top level, as they bring new impact and inspiration to our sport. Just as in the wider community, the younger generations represent our future and we need to help them make the most of their potential. That’s why the Club has long supported the development of the local creative industry and funded various innovative projects in this area, perhaps the most notable being the establishment of the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre in Shek Kip Mei in 2008.
Over the past weekend, we tried to contribute in a different way by sponsoring the 2011 Make a Difference (MaD) Forum at Kwai Tsing Theatre, an event organised by the Hong Kong Institute of Contemporary Culture with the aim of encouraging young people to "think outside the box" in solving some of the challenges they will encounter in life, drawing inspiration from the experiences of others.
Some 1,200 participants aged between 16 and 30 joined this year's forum from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Singapore and Thailand. I was honoured to be invited to the opening ceremony, alongside SAR Financial Secretary John Tsang, and I also stayed on to listen to a number of guest speakers, who had some very motivational stories to tell.
The event also included workshops, experience-sharing sessions and other special programmes, which we hope will encourage and empower these young participants to be more innovative, creative, inquisitive and entrepreneurial in their lives ahead, and thereby be better equipped to contribute to a rapidly-changing world.
While proud of our long history and commitment to serving the community for more than a century, we at the Club are also moving with times, so as to address the new challenges of today's world. As many of you will know, we have already embarked on an organisational transformation programme that will help us better serve the changing demands of customers and the fiercely competitive environment that now exists in the sporting entertainment market. I hope all those who have indirectly benefited from racing can follow the example of our young forum participants by adopting the “think outside the box” attitude, and view horse racing not just in terms of betting, but in its much wider perspective of serving and contributing to the local community.
Let's get back to our midweek racing. Tonight at Happy Valley we will see some of the leading contenders in the 1O1O Million Challenge in action, including current leader Fun Rider, second-placed Cheer and joint third-placed Mark Up, who will square up to each other in the Manawatu Racing Club Challenge Trophy.
It beckons to be a race that could significantly alter the course of this season's Million Challenge, so I will be paying a lot of attention to how these leading challengers perform.
In my assessment, with the expected good pace, it should give every horse a chance to perform in this competitive event. The C+3 course normally favours horses on the speed, but last time a few closers also delivered decent results in this course. I would see what would be the feature of the course tonight. Cheer is now the clear favourite. He is working well at trackwork recently and I think he will be the horse to beat. Having said that, he has many interesting challengers in this mile race, especially Fun Rider who garnered two winners and a runner-up finish in his four starts at Happy Valley mile this season, and therefore you will see a real head-to-head contest for the 1010 Million Challenge lead. Meanwhile, I still think that Mark Up is a real danger for both of them as well as my first selection Happy Tumbler who from Gate 1 with Maxime Guyon on board, should offer good value for racing fans.
The Tung Lung Chau Handicap which will be expected to run at a good pace. There’s a clear favourite in Fionn's Dragon and with the good draw and Douglas Whyte selecting him instead of Young Turbo, he is for me the horse to beat in this race. The Racing Club-owned Young Turbo won nicely last time. Starting from Gate 6 with Zac Purton on board, he will also be a main danger to Fionn’s Dragon. For other runners, Spirit of Secrets is an interesting outsider for me, together with Oasis Davis who returns to race over the six-furlong distance, they can also stage a challenge in this race.
Comment
