This coming Monday we're looking forward to the visit of Manchester United football star Denis Irwin. Denis, as football fans will know, was a legendary defender for the Reds in the 1990s, specialising in scoring off free kicks. He'll be sharing some of his skills on visits to two schools taking part in the Jockey Club School Football Development scheme.
The scheme is one of several youth football programmes the Club is supporting in collaboration with Manchester United, which use football as a medium to develop the life and leadership skills of Hong Kong youngsters. An absolute highlight has always been the visit of such Manchester United stars such as Bryan Robson, Phil Neville and Peter Schmeichel. The response from kids, who in some cases come from underprivileged backgrounds and who have never had the chance to meet a 'star' before is always fantastic. Doubtless the reaction on Monday will be equally enthusiastic. My best wishes to them!
Last night we hosted the 2016 Hong Kong International Sale at Sha Tin Racecourse. It's the first time in 11 years to have held the sale during an evening session. Our hope was to offer an extra bit of glamour and elegance to this exciting occasion and I'm pleased to report that many attending owners and potential buyers were quite satisfied with the new arrangements.
A total of 24 horses were put onto the auction ring last night and they fetched a total amount of HK$100.5million, which is 5.9 per cent higher than the sum of HK$94.9 million from the same number of lots we offered in this sale 12 months ago. It was encouraging to see a higher figure given the uncertain economic outlook. I look forward to following the performances of these sale graduates and hope they bring much success to their owners in the future.
Tomorrow will be one of the highlights of our domestic season, with the 139th running of the HKG1 BMW Hong Kong Derby. Many of the connections for the Derby's leading contenders left the barrier draw on Thursday with smiles after securing handy positions towards the inside. We have had thrilling races in the Hong Kong Classic Mile and Classic Cup and would not be surprised to see another blanket finish this time.
For an owner it is a dream to have a Derby winner and this is why many of our owners invest a significant amount of money to buy a potential Derby winner. The prices for a good horse have increased significantly in the last years due to strong competition. We had to increase our prize money and bonus systems to incentivise our owners to compete for getting top quality horses to Hong Kong, and our owners have fantastically supported our strategies for world class racing. This year's edition of the BMW Hong Kong Derby is no exception, having a great selection of top class horses.
The pace is expected to be good to slow. Green Dispatch might still go forward and King Genki is likely to as well from his outside draw. Eastern Express and Hero Look should be next with Blizzard getting a decent trip. Sun Jewellery should also enjoy a ground-saving trip with Werther farther behind. Giovanni Canaletto, Consort and Helene Paragon will likely drop back, with Helene Paragon possibly in danger of covering extra ground.
Sun Jewellery, Werther and Blizzard are working very well and despite stamina doubts that exist for Sun Jewellery and Blizzard over the 2000m, they are well positioned in the race and are chances to win the race or at least being placed. Werther has superior stamina and will benefit from the additional distance of 200m from the Classic Cup. Eastern Express will relish the extra distance too as will Giovanni Canaletto, who may even appreciate further.
Sun Jewellery is the best horse in the race and he doesn't know how to get beaten. In his last start he benefited from a brilliant ride from Ryan Moore taking the inside to win the race on the line but the extra 200m could find him lacking stamina and the same is in my view likely to be the case for Blizzard. I expect a very close finish and Eastern Express will not have to use as much energy to be in a good position like he had to do last time and is my third choice. Werther is my second choice with Giovanni Canaletto being my first.
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