The Club has been committed to cultivating and promoting local arts and forwarding cultural development over the past few decades. Apart from our donation in support of the annual Hong Kong Arts Festival, in recent years we have extended our commitment by bringing several major exhibitions to Hong Kong for the public’s enjoyment, including the Animated Ching Ming Riverside Scene, Picasso Exhibition and China's First Emperor Exhibition. I myself had visited the Riverside Scene and Picasso ones, and was very impressed with the astonishing computer graphic images and grand exhibits as shown in these events respectively. It was also pleasing that these exhibitions received such overwhelming public support and I’m sure some of you were among those that visited.
Another thematic exhibition is currently on show in the Hong Kong Museum of Arts with the Club giving its backing in the vital role of Art Appreciation Programme sponsor. The display showcases the masterpieces of pop art master Andy Warhol and gives the local public a rare chance to look into a time capsule and savour some of the revolutionary art works and artistic illustrations produced by this American visual arts maestro.
With the emphatic public response, we felt that it would be great to do more and so earlier this week we announced that we have collaborated with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) to launch The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series. This three-year partnership will see the Club, through our Charities Trust, supporting LCSD in hosting two to three major exhibitions each year, with an annual budget of HK$17 million.
The first of the HKJC Series exhibitions, The Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia, commenced on Wednesday, with the Club being the event’s sole sponsor. With the generous participation of the British Museum, the exhibition will showcase some carefully selected treasures and artefacts from the Middle East Department of that famous London institution, offering a fascinating look at the ancient Mesopotamian civilisation and the lives of its people. Legends of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, will also be covered in the exhibition. It is a great opportunity so make your way over to the Museum of History at Tsim Sha Tsui East for the exhibition before mid-May to be sure not to miss out.
It really is a privilege to have these ancient wonders here in Hong Kong; it means that a lot of Hong Kong people, including the underprivileged families, will be able to enjoy seeing these precious exhibits without the need to make a trip to London, and gain an insight into this very early ancient civilisation. I hope to make some time to pay visit if my work schedule will allow me to do so. I believe that it is important, especially for the younger generation, to always quest for new knowledge, be informed, and be willing to know and learn more about the world and the people around us, both past and present – that will drive us to the fore in this fast-evolving business world.
A group of top-class racehorses will be competing to be at the fore in our Sha Tin races today, as a high-class field of 13 is set to line up in the HKG3 Centenary Vase. The field for this handicap includes a couple of runners who performed nicely in December’s international races and last month’s Stewards’ Cup, most notably Liberator who ran 4th in the Vase, and Dan Excel who finished runner-up in the Stewards’ Cup. I’m interested to see how they fare in this exciting event this time.
I’ll also be keeping an eye on a few runners which have been entered for the Derby, such as Mizani, another exciting young prospect from Richard Gibson’s yard who made an impressive winning debut over 1400m last time. It appears that since his victory he has progressed well in his trackwork, and has looked smart in recent gallops. It will be nice to see how he performs this time when stepping up to the mile distance, which should be more to his liking. Another horse to be looking at in the same race is Poetic Justice, as this young horse had some solid performances in the UK before importing to Hong Kong. Although he has a tough draw in 14 on this occasion I’ll be watching for signs of promise, and who knows, maybe he can spring a surprise.
This race, the Shek Mun Handicap, is run as a Class 2 over 1600m and the pace is expected to be good to slow which favours horses running in the front and midfield. They could enjoy a slight advantage. Regular Leader Shiny Day should be able to get across from Gate 11 with Enabling in the box seat on the inside of Lucky Forever or Satirical Boy. The exciting 4yo Mizani from Gate 5 should find a position in midfield with Keen Wongchoy who tries the 1600m for the first time. Another interesting 4yo Poetic Justice, making its Hong Kong debut, will have to come from the back of the field. The same applies to Let Me Handle It who will appreciate the step up in distance to 1600m.
Let Me Handle It is coming back to his best and is a win and place chance for me. He will be the main challenger to Mizani who was very impressive in his debut over 1400m and should have no problem going to 1600m as when you look at his winning form over 1600m back in Ireland. He will be the horse to beat and my only concern is that his best form was at tracks on the yielding to soft side. Among other runners Lucky Forever and Keen Wongchoy are my other picks for a place.
The Centenary Vase is a HKG3 over 1800m and run as a handicap for horses rated 90 plus. It has attracted a very good field with eight horses rated higher than 115. The pace is expected to be good, with the widely drawn Same World and Beauty Lead have to work early to get across. Real Specialist from Gate 2, Mighty High from Gate 6, Dan Excel from Gate 1 and Willie Cazals from Gate 3 will compete for good spots behind the leaders, which will force Liberator to work even harder to get into a good position. Fay Fay and Helene Spirit should be in midfield, with Military Attack and Irian coming from the back of the field.
Real Specialist is working very well and his last run in the Stewards’ Cup was good. He is a good win and place chance but I prefer Dan Excel more as after his tremendous run in the same race, his recent trackwork performances have been excellent. Fay Fay is coming back to his best and should not be underestimated as well as Helene Spirit and Military Attack.
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