I’m sure I’m not the only one to be impressed by the progress and improvement that Gold-Fun has shown so far this season. His victory in Sunday’s Oriental Watch Sha Tin Trophy was very exciting and had all the hallmarks of a top-class effort – now it will be interesting to see whether the four-year-old will feature in the Jockey Club Mile or go straight for the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile. Whichever route he takes, next time he will be up against some stronger and fitter opponents, so I hope he will continue to progress and show us the full extent of his talent when the time comes.
A couple of days before Gold-Fun lit up Sha Tin I made a short excursion to Beijing to attend the annual charity dinner hosted by our Beijing Hong Kong Jockey Club Clubhouse. This charity dinner has become an extravaganza for our Beijing members since the Beijing Clubhouse opened in April 2008. Now in its sixth year, we have raised a total of over RMB 10 million in aid of children living in impoverished Chinese regions. Over 600 children suffering from congenital heart disease and loss of vision have benefitted from the programme thus far.
This year again I’m delighted with the generous and overwhelming support from our Beijing members. Over 70 members, guests and owners attended the charity dinner on Friday and we raised a total of RMB 5.84 million from the occasion. The net proceeds will go to the Group the Power Of Love charity fund that is registered under the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The Beijing Clubhouse has been a stellar example of how the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s spirit of “Racing for Charity” has been extended and put into practice in Mainland China. It was a pleasure to be there again and the emphatic results show how fully our Beijing Members share the Club values of giving back to the community.
Similarly, thousands of children and youngsters in Hong Kong also benefitted from another Club-sponsored community programme recently, one focused on local football development. Some 9,500 youngsters graduated from the Summer Scheme of the Jockey Club Youth Football Development Programme and its closing ceremony was held on Sunday morning. I was there before I headed to Sha Tin that morning and it was an enriching experience to meet with the many happy young footballers, boys and girls.
Apart from the substantial amount of football betting tax revenue we provide to the Government, the Club has also given immense support to local football development. Related contributions have reached some HK$170 million over the past few years. In addition to the JC Youth Football Development Programme, other donations toward major projects also include the Jockey Club Elite Youth Football Camp in collaboration with Manchester United, the construction of the Jockey Club Kitchee Centre in Shek Mun, the recent Hong Kong Games and its Futsal competition.
We are also in support of the idea of establishing a football training centre for Hong Kong. That’s why we have committed a funding of HK$20 million for carrying out a related feasibility study and toward the master plan of football and other facilities at the proposed Tseung Kwan O site. Further to this idea, we look forward to receiving soon from the Hong Kong Football Association their strategic action plans that will help take Hong Kong’s football development to a new level.
Let’s now turn our focus back to racing. Some of you may have followed my horse Now We Can’s performance in the G1 Pattison Canadian International on Sunday night. It was his first start in an international G1 race and I think it was a good effort to finish 4th behind Joshua Tree. We chose the Canadian race because Now We Can does not prefer soft or heavy going, and normally the ground would be good in Woodbine at this time of the year. But unfortunately, it rained heavily and one of the races that day was even taken off the turf to the all-weather track.
Under the given circumstances, I am very satisfied. When I talked to our jockey after the race he said that coming into the last 300m he thought we could even win the race, despite Now We Can not liking the going, and it was only in the last 50 yards that he lost his action to be edged out of third place by a neck. My trainer entered Now We Can for the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase, but I advised my trainer that even though I would have the race as my first choice if invited, it would be difficult to run the horse in Hong Kong due to my position as the Club CEO here. Anyway, we will give him a rest now and perhaps he will go to Dubai in the spring.
Back to local racing, tonight’s race meeting is a replacement fixture for the one that was abandoned due to the typhoon back on 22 September. The races, which include two on turf and six on all-weather track, will be held at Sha Tin. So make sure you proceed to the correct track if you want to join us for the live action tonight.
The highlight of today’s card is Albatross Handicap, a Class 2 1000m event which is run on the turf and not on the all-weather. Pace of the race is expected to be good with strong pacesetters Amber Sky and Dane Patrol leading. Beauty Sparkle should be in an ideal position in the box seat behind the leaders, while Fun Tapestry, Hard Ball Get and Choice Treasure should position along the outside rail which will be advantageous to them.
Amber Sky is a very good Class 2 horse for me beside the issues of blood he has in his trachea. He is with good win and place chance here. Beauty Sparkle, Imperial Champion and Fun Tapestry are the main opponents for him tonight.
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