For those racing fans who tuned in to watch the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe from France via our simulcast on Sunday night, I am sure you would agree that this year’s race ended in most unbelievable fashion. When the Japanese champion Orfevre surged past almost the entire field of runners in the home straight, it seemed that he was destined to give Japan their long-awaited first victory in the prestigious race. But after breaking clear of his rivals, Orfevre hung across the track in the testing ground and collided with the far rail near the winning post as French contender Solemia – ridden by a determined Olivier Peslier – overhauled him in the final strides for a sensational triumph.
Watching from the Longchamp Grandstand, I was among the vast majority who thought that it was a sure win for Orfevre when he powered to the lead 300m from home. Many of my Japanese friends hoped the horse would exceed the achievements of their previous Arc runners-up El Condor Pasa in 1999 and Nakayama Festa in 2010, but ultimately he lost out in heartbreaking fashion. Many Japanese racing fans, who made special trips all the way to Longchamp to support their star horse, were left speechless and shell-shocked in the aftermath.
However, their pain means somebody else’s gain. Solemia won the top prize for trainer Carlos Laffon-Parias, who is quite familiar to Hong Kong racing fans as this France-based trainer has saddled horses such as Balius and Chinchon for our international races here in Hong Kong. Solemia’s victory means that the Arc was once again won by a filly, following German runner Danedream last year and the undefeated Zarkava in 2008. I’m interested to know, as I’m sure our local racing fans are too, which race this talented French filly will contest next.
Arc day and the annual meeting of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, which follows the event, are important occasions for racing professionals from the world’s leading racing authorities to meet and discuss topics relating to global racing. As in past years, a number of Club officials, including myself, attended.
While I was in Paris, I was well aware of racing fans’ comments regarding the “wrong gates” incident, which happened in Race 9 last Saturday, and in my view an incident like this should not happen in Hong Kong. We had multiple layers who failed, from the jockeys, starting gate handlers, assistant starter, starter and so on. We will have a full review of what went wrong and where we need to improve in order to prevent a similar case from happening again. Having said that, with over 700 races in a season, the team around the gates normally does a very good job and we have well-established race-day processes, which handle race-day matters efficiently and properly. Regarding this specific case, the Racing Stewards on the day looked into various circumstances and acted appropriately, in line with the Rules of Racing, and declared the two horses as runners.
As in most other racing jurisdictions, there is no specific racing rule saying that if any horse jumps from a wrong gate it must automatically be declared as a non-runner. In the world of racing, it’s widely understood that the Racing Stewards will consider each case on it own merits to decide whether the related horse(s) should be declared as runner(s) or non-runner(s).
I fully note that there are different opinions about the matter and in particular the loading procedures. The Club strives to maintain high standards in all areas and will always endeavour to implement improvements in operating procedures when necessary.
After the busy schedule of the past two days in Paris, I am able to return to Hong Kong today, and this allows me to attend tonight’s Happy Valley meeting. Racegoers at the course will be soaking up some great traditional German atmosphere at the first Oktoberfest-themed race night of the season. Again we will serve you some fine German food treats and a great selection of German beer. I hope you all enjoy a wonderful night at the Valley.
For the eight races on the card, I think the green colours of Hear The Roar will serve him well in the Ireland Trophy, an 1800m event for Class 3 runners, as he has demonstrated a good record second up. He is well drawn and should benefit from an honest pace to help set up his closing run from midfield. I would expect his main competition to come from Shiny Day, Soldier and Indigo Way. Soldier is drawn outside in gate 11 but is in top form and carries a light weight.
In the Carbine Club Cup, a Class 3 event at 1650 metres, Mega Champion is back in a familiar place, as he just won a race with the same conditions two weeks ago from the same barrier. He was all out to win in a determined effort and will need to be at his best to repeat against the likes of Withinmyheart, Flying Chaparral and Forgive And Forget. The latter turned in an outstanding final section three weeks ago and seems ready to deliver his best performance since arriving here from New Zealand.
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