Other than the Australian expat community here, or those of you who have lived or studied "down under", I suspect that not many people in Hong Kong have ever had the chance to watch Australian football, or Aussie Rules as it's commonly known. In parts of Australia though, it's a hugely popular sport. Combining elements of rugby, soccer and Gaelic football, it requires the players to have strong kicking skills and precision as well as good bodily strength and athleticism, especially in chasing or outjumping their opponents for the ball.
On Wednesday evening, we were very pleased to welcome 25 team members from the Geelong Football Club, currently top Aussie Rules team from Victoria, to our Happy Valley night races. Better known as the Geelong Cats, they're one of the top sides in the sport and won the Grand Final of the Australian Football League early this month in front of an astonishing 99,500 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This was the Cats' ninth premiership title in their 152-year history.
The winning team joined the trip to Hong Kong, and, as invited by Richard Tsiang, an advisor of The Racing Club, they were attending our races here for the first time. Being a great fan of all types of sport, I was delighted to have the chance of chatting to them in the Racing Club box. Several of them told me how captivated they were by the unique setting and atmosphere of our city racecourse. They followed the night's races with great enthusiasm, even though the weather conditions were quite wet and not too ideal on Wednesday. I was happy to share a few laughs with them, as well as my horse selections for the night. Later they also had a short chat with fellow Australian jockey Zac Purton at the paddock, too.
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It's always very encouraging to see Happy Valley Racecourse being a focal point of Hong Kong for visitors from other sports. As I mentioned when we unveiled the Club's HK$7 billion Racecourse Master Plan last month, it's our aim to position Happy Valley as a prime venue for corporate and sporting entertainment, and a popular meeting place for the young professional set.
We hope that this major programme of renovations and enhancements to the facilities at both Happy Valley and Sha Tin will help us better meet the expectations of different customer segments, and thus help us ensure the long-term sustainability of horse racing in Hong Kong. We want to put our new generation racecourses on a par with the very best sporting and entertainment venues in the world, so as to retain the support of our existing racing fans, attract new customers to the sport, and make horse racing one of Hong Kong's "must do" attractions for overseas visitors.
By coincidence, in the same week that we've played host to some of Australia's top sportsmen, one of Hong Kong's top horses has been doing battle in the G1 Caulfield Cup, which one of Australia's most famous races. Our five-year-old Champion Stayer Mighty High was finished unplaced in the 2400m race. He was hanging badly in the first bend and ran a disappointing race, but it is very difficult for a Hong Kong horse to perform at that time of the year in Australia.
Following our three simulcast races from Australia this afternoon, we will have four more coming up from the British Champions Day tonight. In the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, one of the best mile races in the world, I believe it should be dominated by Frankel who is seen as one of the best milers in racing history ever. Currently at a rating of 135, he will be assisted by his pacemaker Bullet Train and will be very very difficult to beat. Excelebration is a terrific miler too. Although he has a high rating of 125 and is still improving, I still believe he has to settle for second in this 1 million pound G1 event. Immortal Verse is a great filly. She will be ridden by Gerald Mosse tonight and she’s for me a place chance.
In another highlight event of the British Champions Day, the Champion Stakes, we will see two leading contenders in the Arc race, So You Think and Snow Fairy, clashing again in this 2000m Group 1 event. I think both of them have live chances, but my main concern is that they come from a hard race in the Arc and going back in distance from 2400m to 2000m, which in my view could be a disadvantage, especially because it normally takes speed out of horses. Cirrus des Aigles is a terrific horse and he improves immensely this season. He will be ridden by Christophe Soumillion and I think he has a positive top-three chance. The horses I like most are Nathaniel, who will be going back in distance after his last run in July, as well as the upcoming Dubai Prince who will be ridden by Frankie Dettori this evening.
We have another great day of racing lined up at Sha Tin tomorrow for the Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse Day – the day when our female racing fans and visitors take centre stage. This is always one of the most popular racedays of the season, and once again we've again put a lot of effort into making it a stylish and glamorous occasion, with a series of on-course attractions and events specially designed for the fairer sex. These include make-up service counters, a "Best Dressed" contest and an attractive new range of Ladies’ Purse Day themed merchandise. Renowned local TV actress Aimee Chan will join other models to showcase some stylish fashions and accessories in a special catwalk session, and all racegoers will receive a free souvenir horse brooch on admission. So dress up in your most alluring outfits and come to join the most charming raceday of the year!
Making the day even more special this year is that we've upgraded the Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse feature race to a HKG3 event, with the prize money increased to HK$2.4 million. This reflects the ever-growing stature of this event, which has been earmarked as an early-season target race by a number of the connections of our Group performers and emerging stars.
Although there are only nine runners competing in tomorrow's 1800m event, it will be a very competitive field as it features a number of star runners like Super Satin, Super Pistachio and Let Me Handle It. With the expected slow pace of the race, Super Pistachio will take the lead and Destined For Glory in a good position behind the pace. The latter horse is in good form and trains very well. I think he will be the horse to beat. Fat Choy Oohlala is another in-form runner, too, but I would prefer him more at 1600m. Having said that, he still has a nice chance to finish in the top-three this time. Let Me Handle It has improved in training. He was raced held up last time in the straight when attempting to make his run, and I expect a better run from him tomorrow. Jacobee is for me the other main danger who ran a good race first up and he loves the 1800 m at Sha Tin.
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