Whether you were at Sha Tin racecourse or not, I hope you managed to watch and enjoy our exciting season finale on Sunday. Caspar Fownes and John Size ensured a thrilling climax to the Trainers’ Premiership, which marked a fitting end to what was a record-breaking season – I stand by what I said on the day, that it has been one of the most remarkable and notable seasons in our 130-year history.
John sent out a double, but Caspar had a final day to remember, with three wins and three seconds. With both of them tied on 62 wins, Caspar clinched the title by the most slender margin, via the countback rule, as he edged John on second placings during the season by 59-58. It is amazing that after 771 races over 10 months, one more second place finish decided the title! A call as close as that is not something anyone could have imagined, especially when Caspar was 15 wins behind John as recently as April. I am as happy for Caspar as I know many of you are, and it was great to see him celebrate with his father, Lawrie. It was clear that this achievement was very special for the Fownes family. It was also good to see Lawrie in high spirits as he joined the celebrations on Sunday and I wish him all the best as he fights against cancer. 
While it was Caspar who celebrated in the end, I think nobody could deny that John Size has had a very good season and I feel for him for losing out on the title in such circumstances.
Also enjoying the celebrations was Zac Purton. It was clear that his first Jockeys’ Championship meant a great deal to him, especially after the hard work of the past few seasons. He fully deserved to receive the trophy and hopefully he will deliver the same outstanding level of performance in the new season.
For the record, I am proud, on behalf of the Club, that the racing turnover passed HK$100 billion for the first time in our history. That’s not by sheer luck - it comes from our very clear strategy and plenty of hard work from the whole Hong Kong Jockey Club team. We have invested significantly in our facilities and also made a huge effort to understand our customers better. I think all of this combined has been reflected in the results. I noticed that on the day a number of racing fans, who were interviewed by the media, explained that they came to the racecourse not necessarily for betting, but to feel the on-course atmosphere and to experience the excitement of live horse racing. That is very encouraging, as it is exactly how we have been trying to promote the sport to a new audience.
Apart from racegoers’ enjoyment and the increase in racing income, I’m also happy to see the public coffers benefitting significantly too, as the tax contribution from racing for the season rose by 6.7% to an all-time record of HK$11.7 billion. And equally pleasing was the fact that attendances at our race meetings topped two million for the second successive season. Apart from the popularity of our new facilities in Sha Tin racecourse, the Happy Wednesday themed meetings continued to be a major success.
People from all walks of life just love the racing-related entertainment and social interaction. The sense of fun and the exciting sport creates a great atmosphere, and the promotion of the Happy Wednesday brand is giving horseracing a much better image.
I would like again to thank our Club team, numbering more than 20,000 - without their immense contributions all of these exciting achievements would not be possible. Of course I’m also grateful to have the staunch support of racing fans as their patronage and feedback is vital to our racing development, driving us forward to do better still. I’m sure racing fans, horsemen and all of us at the Club will have plenty more to enjoy in the new season.
With the 2013/14 now in the record books, I can turn a little more of my attention to the World Cup, which reaches its climax this week. My home team Germany have given me much to cheer about so far, and now the most important and nervous moments are approaching. Tonight they will face a Brazil team in the semi-final who are without the injured Neymar and their suspended captain Thiago Silva. Good news for German fans is misery for those Brazilian supporters, as the absence of those two will definitely help Germany’s cause. But of course the vocal and thunderous support of the home crowd inside the stadium could drive Brazil’s players to perform to an even higher level than usual. Having said that, naturally I will be firmly rooting for my team and I believe they can win. Hopefully they will play well, have the luck on their side and successfully avenge their defeat to Brazil in the 2002 final.
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