Although Italy is not as well known in the modern racing world as other European powers like Britain, France, Germany and Ireland, horse racing there has a very long history, dating back to Roman times. It remains a popular sport among Italians today and there are racetracks in many parts of the country, the best known being the Capannelle in Rome and the San Siro in Milan – close by the famous football stadium of the same name.
The standards of Italy's top races are quite high, with seven races there currently holding International Group 1 status. They attract regular participation from some of Europe's top owners and trainers.
Hong Kong racing fans will no doubt be familiar with some of the big names in Italian racing, none more so than legendary Milan-born jockey Lanfranco (Frankie) Dettori, the three-time British Champion Jockey who won his third Cathay Pacific International Jockeys’ Championship here just last month, and has altogether ridden six winners in our Hong Kong International Races over the years. Another Italian rider, Mirco Demuro, came to international prominence last March when he rode Japanese runner Victoire Pisa to victory in the prestigious Dubai World Cup at Meydan.
As regards trainers, Luca Cumani, another Milan native, is probably the best known among the current Italian generation. Since the mid-1970s, Luca has been based in England at Newmarket, but he has campaigned a number of his horses in Asia in recent years including 2003 Hong Kong Cup winner Falbrav, 2009 AP QEII Cup winner Presvis and 2005 Japan Cup winner Alkaased.
Recently, however, I've learnt the worrying news that Italian racing authority has decided to slash funding for racecourses in 2012. Reports indicate that the racecourses will receive 40 per cent less revenue this year, which coupled with a declining trend in betting turnover, will mean prize money has to be cut by a similar percentage.
This is likely to mean many Italian horsemen and racing staff facing pay cuts or even losing their jobs. It will also reduce the attractiveness of Italy's major races to connections from other parts of Europe and put a big question mark on the future sustainability of the country's racing industry.
I understand that representatives of various racing bodies will be meeting the Italian Government next week to try to find ways of resolving these problems, though this may not be easy given the severe financial constraints Italy is currently facing as a result of the ongoing Eurodebt crisis. But let's hope for the sake of horse racing fans worldwide that more positive news will be emerging soon.
In Hong Kong, we are fortunate that the sport currently remains in encouraging shape and the racing turnover has noted a healthy growth. However, this certainly doesn’t mean the Club is free from any challenges, though. In midweek, Macau authorities announced that total gaming revenue there in 2011 reached a staggering 267.8 billion patacas, a year-on-year increase of 42 per cent. Macau has already become the largest gaming market in the world, and these latest figures indicate that its total casino receipts are now more than five times those of the Las Vegas strip or Singapore.
This is why it's so important that we continue strengthening the service we offer our customers, and provide even better racecourse experiences through our Racecourse Master Plan project. But this alone may not be sufficient to ensure the long-term sustainability of Hong Kong racing in the face of such fast-growing competition. As we enter a New Year, I do hope our discussion with the Government on resolving tax hurdles we face in setting up commingled pools on local races progresses well.
Tomorrow for our race meeting at Sha Tin we have arranged 10 races, which I hope turnover will continue to be strong and a further HK$100 million-plus in betting duty will be raised for the Government. The Tung Tsing Handicap as first Leg of the Triple Trio which carries a jackpot of HK$24.4 million, is a competitive Class 5 over the distance of 1600m. The pace is expected to be slow which should help horses racing in the front of the field. Beautiful Choice is one of the expected leaders and with his good recent form, good trackwork as well as the good strike rate for the combination of trainer Danny Shum and jockey Darren Beadman, he is one of my preferred horses in the race. Mighty Feeling is expected to go forward too and was blocked until the 300m in his last run. He’s one of the other horses I like and should have a good win and place chance. Winning Mascot with Gerald Mosse on board ran very well last time and with his excellent trackwork, despite having a two-month break since his last run, is my other pick. Last but not least, Mister Horse is working very well and is in good form beaten only a neck last time. He will have a decent win and place chance among the field.
The Lung Kong Handicap as a Class 2 event over 1400m, is expected to be run at a good pace which would not disadvantage any runner. Bould Mover is likely to lead with Berio, who has to work early to get across. Despite this I still see Berio as a place chance. Adoration is expected to be in the box seat and Gift Is Gift should be well placed and working very well but will step up to 1400m again. He has a place chance for me, especially with Mosse trying to ride in 117 pounds, plus 2 pounds potential overweight. Amigo, Voile Rouge as well as New Vision all are working very well and will have to come from the back of the field, but they all are horses who could win the race. In the end my pick is New Vision with his strong form behind Glorious Days in his previous start. Despite being in traffic, he was able to run the last 400m in 22.32 seconds which in my view is pretty good.
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