Almost 15,000 racegoers joined us on-course for the Boxing Day night meeting on Thursday, creating a festive and enjoyable atmosphere at Happy Valley. The evening was also a pleasing one for Douglas Whyte, who scored a double and was crowned winner of the Jockey Challenge for the first time in two months. Current leading jockey Zac Purton also returned to winning ways with his victory aboard current 1O1O Million Challenge leading horse Pleasure Gains in the last race of the night.
Apart from Dougie and Zac, the evening also provided a memorable milestone for local jockey Matthew Chadwick, as he rode his 250th winner on board Majestic Anthem, trained by his mentor Tony Cruz. The horse itself also became the first horse to get four wins this season. Amongst all local jockeys who are still active and riding in Hong Kong, Matthew is in third place as Howard Cheng now has 407 winners, and Eddy Lai also has 277 to his name. However, I think it is the amount of time taken to achieve this feat that is important. Having made his first riding appearance in Hong Kong in December 2008, it has taken Matthew just five years to reach the 250-win mark and I believe many would agree with me that this is an impressive feat.
I would also like to highlight the outstanding work done by Amy Chan and her team at the HKJC Apprentice Jockeys’ School at Sha Tin. Some people were sceptical when we introduced this concept, but Matthew Chadwick and others are living proof of its success. The famous international jockeys who come here to ride are an important part of racing in Hong Kong, but it is equally vital for us to recruit, train and support the best local talent. Not only does this demonstrate our commitment to Hong Kong’s people, it also helps to reinforce the “can do” attitude of Hong Kong by showing that commitment, determination and hard work can bring success whatever your background.
Apart from Matthew, other local talents such as Keith Yeung and Dicky Lui are still doing well despite the keen competition posed by the expat jockeys based here - Keith rode 33 winners in 2013 while Dicky had 25. It’s pleasing to see these home grown talents continuing to make progress and I hope they all continue to flourish in the future.
With Matthew reaching his new mark, he will no longer be eligible to receive a 2lb weight allowance claim starting from the race meeting at Sha Tin tomorrow. But if he looks at the careers of Howard and Eddy, both of them continued to produce solid results after losing their claim.
We will see how Matthew’s six rides perform today, but among the 11 races on the card I will also pay my attention to the Chek Keng Handicap, which is a Class 2 over 1400m and run as Race 10. The pace will likely be slow because there is no strong leader in the race, with newcomer Mirage being the most likely leader, while New Glory and Beauty Flame need to go forward from their wide draws. Ho In One can take the box seat. New Vision, Sichuan Vigour and possibly Dibayani can fill the positions behind the leaders, with Secret Sham and Dining World in good positions behind. These horses should have an advantage due to the slow pace and Dundonnell, Real Generous have to go back and out wide, together at the back with Banksters Bonus and Holiday Sun.
Mirage is a very exciting newcomer who is working well and has the class to win or at least be placed even having his first start in Hong Kong. He has classic potential and the same applies to Dining World who is working well and has the benefit of having already had two races under his belt. Their main opponents are Secret Sham who has improved from his last outing when finishing sixth, and Ho In One who is working well and is better drawn than last time. With the slow pace he should be well placed in the race.
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