It’s no secret that horseracing, like many sports, has for the most part traditionally been viewed as being male dominated. Of course, that was true in the past – up to about the middle of the last century women were not even allowed to own racehorses in Britain, and the first professional female jockey only really emerged in the 1970s, but thankfully things have been changing for some time and they continue to change.
Nowadays women play much more visible and important roles in all sports, in all walks of life in fact, as we see in the political sphere with female world leaders such as Angela Merkel in Germany and South Korea’s President Park Guen-hye no longer seen as exceptions in a man’s world, while here in Hong Kong Mrs Carrie Lam holds the position of Chief Secretary for Administration.
We are all familiar with women at the very highest level in horseracing – think of the brilliant trainer Criquette Head-Maarek of Arc winner Treve, and leading jockeys Julie Krone and Hayley Turner. Here in Hong Kong women play a heavy role in our industry, too. Racing fans may know our apprentice school headmistress Amy Chan, previously a top badminton player, and certainly many will recall jockey Sherie Legrix, who previously rode in Hong Kong. Of course, there are many ladies, ranging from assistant trainer and work riders, to racing lab chemists and track attendants, who all contribute to our racing behind the scenes.
Women have long contributed to the social side of horseracing and you need only watch Royal Ascot to see how important Ladies’ Day is to the female racegoer. Among our racing customers here in Hong Kong, I’m pleased that we are seeing more ladies attending our race meetings. Those of you who have joined in the excitement at our Happy Wednesday events at Happy Valley will have observed this trend. We are delighted that our themed meetings have gained popularity and that ladies enjoy a good night out in a fun and welcoming environment. The Happy Wednesday campaign had charted a new direction to capture the young professional segment and it successfully created a fun social and entertainment experience on racenights. The huge support of this clientele has reflected their recognition of our new direction and the great efforts we have made. Of course, we hope you all will continue supporting us and come and enjoy yourself at these special race nights.
The race meeting at Sha Tin racecourse tomorrow promises to be equally if not more sensational as it is the Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse Day, one of the most glamourous race days of the year here in Hong Kong. Though this meeting may be seen by many as a special day for ladies, I know their male friends will be just as entertained by the various on-course attractions, activities and artists’ performances within the racecourse. You can get into the spirit of the event and dress up in your finest dress or smartest suit if you want, but either way I hope you enjoy our programme and our exciting race action tomorrow.
We have 11 races tomorrow and the first race will commence at 12.30pm. For the day’s racing highlight the Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse, some of the runners might take it as a step-up event ahead of the internationals next month. This event is run as a HKG3 over 1800m and has attracted a very good quality field. Some of the horses who were bought for last season’s BMW Hong Kong Derby and needed time to acclimatise have now come good and will run in this race, as well as last year’s Derby second Endowing. Blazing Speed is one of those horses bought for the Derby and he is likely to lead, possibly alongside Business As Usual, with Winning Leader, Beauty Lead and Same World in good spots. Endowing should be in midfield, while Scarlet Camellia, Mizani and Rainbow Chic may be taken back - the latter two due to their wide draws. In this formation the pace should be good to slow which slightly favours horses racing closer to the pace. Blazing Speed’s last run was impressive and with his good trackwork is one of the horses I fancy, especially as he should be well positioned. Rainbow Chic has to come from the back of the field which is not ideal but I see him still as a place chance and the same applies to Mizani. My first pick is Endowing who should improve from his first start this season in which he finished second. Winning Leader is improving all the time and is another with a place chance.
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