At Wednesday’s first Happy Valley meeting we saw trainer Richard Gibson get his new Hong Kong career off the mark in style, with a 3rd place in his opening race here then a win at just his second attempt, courtesy of stable syndicate runner Great Renown in Race 5. It's certainly a wonderful start for this British trainer, who has moved his training base from Chantilly to Hong Kong this season. With more than 35 horses joining his yard, Richard has already established an admirable starting base here. I hope he and his team will continue delivering good results and enjoy a successful debut season in Hong Kong.
The early season results also look pretty good for the Club, turnover-wise, as on Wednesday we reported total receipts of HK$723 million. This is the highest Valley season opening figure since 2000/01, and is HK$60 million higher than the corresponding figure last term.
Some of you might know I majored in economics, statistics and finance during my time at university. So apart from needing to keep a close eye on the Club's financial situation in my role as CEO, I always take a lot of interest in following global economic developments. And in fact, global trends are important for the Club's business too, as they could ultimately have an impact on Hong Kong's economic climate, as well as posing challenges for the racing and thoroughbred industry worldwide.
In recent weeks, the spiralling debt crisis in some European countries have been the main focus in global economic markets, with Greece and Italy being the two countries that are under huge financial pressure and face serious threats of default. In midweek, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave reassurances that Greece would remain in the Eurozone. They also pledged that the EU would soon come up with Euro bonds and funding proposals to aid the Greek Government, so to avoid the Greek economy collapsing, thus creating further shocks to the Euro currency zone and regional economy.
In my view, a default would have unimaginable consequences for the regional economy. It could also set off a chain reaction in the European racing industry, as many European racing jurisdictions are already facing great challenges to their racing operations and development.
An economic downturn in Europe could well result in many racing operators and thoroughbred farm owners having to lay off some of their staff, making thousands of racing workers unemployed. Investments by horse owners and racing fans' betting levels would also shrink, bring significant impacts to racing turnover and thoroughbred businesses. It's a situation that we certainly wouldn't want to see it happening in HK.
Though we are thousands of miles apart, it doesn't mean Hong Kong would be totally spared from such impacts, so we need to stay on our guard and be well prepared to respond where necessary. Quite apart from the economic uncertainty now clouding Europe, the US economy remains stagnant and looks likely to stay that way for some time. Nevertheless, most Asian economies are still fairly buoyant. For this reason, I'm still cautiously optimistic that we will see continued growth in our racing turnover this season, though at lower rate than last term, probably in the range of 3 to 3.5 per cent for the whole season.
Back to this Sunday's meeting at Sha Tin where we will have 10 races on the card. Two high-class runners who delivered sound performances last season, namely Fat Choy Oohlala and National Treasure, will seek to extend that form to the new season when they compete in the Kwantung Handicap over 1400m tomorrow. In my assessment of the race, the expected slow pace should enable National Treasure to go to the front and dictate the pace. He is working well and is my main pick, with Fat Choy Oohlala who is working very well, too. Cerise Cherry should be well positioned and I think he should also give a good performance.
In Shantou Handicap, the first leg of the Triple Trio, it appears to be a tough challenge but with Smart Choice working well and being proven on the All Weather track, he’s my top choice in this race. In the second leg, the Shenzhen Handicap, the expected slow pace should enable John Dory to take up a good position in the front of the field and I think he has a good chance to finish in the top three. In the final leg, the Foshan Handicap, Shifachi Tradition has been impressive in track work and with the expected good to slow pace, he should be well placed and he’s the runner that I would look at in this mile event.
Later tomorrow there will also be an eye-catching football match to watch, as Manchester United and Chelsea squared off at Old Trafford. Both teams remain unbeaten after the first four league matches of the season, but I believe you'd agree with me that United are in especially sizzling form, having scored a whopping 18 goals in those four matches, including eight from a rejuvenated Wayne Rooney.
While we stay alert about the world's economic problems for a minute, let’s have a great day of sport to enjoy on Sunday!
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