Over the past century, the Club has given enormous support to the development of Hong Kong's healthcare system, ranging from the provision of basic medical facilities in different districts to the funding of sophisticated new technology. As one of the city's largest and longest established organisations, we feel we have a responsibility to contribute to the sustainable development of our society - and effective public healthcare, both now and in the future, is a very important element of that. That's why our Charities Trust has recently committed a HK$133 million donation to the University of Hong Kong for the Phase 1 development of its Human Research Institute.
This involves the construction of a new complex that will bring the various disciplinary units of the Institute together and enhance collaboration between different scientific research projects in HKU when completed in mid 2011. We hope this project can create a better environment for its research work, which will ultimately lead to better treatment and prevention of diseases and enhance the quality of life for all of us in Hong Kong.
In a season when the Club is marking its 125th anniversary, we are also taking the opportunity to promote a more healthy daily lifestyle among Hong Kong people. We've invited local artistes Jan Lamb and Eric Kot to demonstrate the 125th Anniversary Can Do Exercise – a set of ten specially-designed wing chun movements that encapsulate ten messages of positive living. Videos of the exercises are now available for your viewing on the Club's website and are also available through various other multimedia platforms.
The Club's volunteer team, CARE@hkjc, is also collaborating with different social organisations and schools to promote these special wing chun exercises to the local community. I'm glad to learn that their efforts have received a very favourable response, with over 1,500 people from local non-governmental organisations and students taking part in our training sessions since last month. They in turn will help promote the campaign to others in the weeks to come, so that more and more people will be encouraged to exercise regularly.
Like human beings, racehorses also need to exercise regularly to stay fit. Most trainers arrange fast workouts for their horses before races, so as to ensure they are in peak form and shape for the event. In December you will be able to watch some of the best horses in the world working out on the Sha Tin turf in preparation for the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races. We've just unveiled the list of initial entries for this showpiece international event today.
I would say the 298 runners entered for our international races this year are of really high quality. Not only do they include 79 individual Group One winners, they also feature classic winners like reigning Kentucky Derby champion Mine That Bird, Breeders' Cup Turf winner Conduit, Australian Horse of the Year Scenic Blast and his Japanese equivalent, prolific mare Vodka. Yet still I feel confident that our local hopefuls like Viva Pataca, Good Ba Ba, Sacred Kingdom and Collection should have good chances to win for the home team.
I can hardly wait for the International Races to come around on 13 December and I'm sure you all feel the same. There are still a dozen more local meetings to come before that, though, starting tonight at Happy Valley. Among the eight races on the card, I will be interested to see the performance of Ocean Wide in the American Club Challenge Cup.
This Caspar Fownes-trained runner had a surprising performance in his first run of the season, finished 2nd in a 1000m race at Sha Tin. He will return to his favourite track of Happy Valley tonight. Although he was drawn Gate 7, I still think he should have superior speed to fight off his opponents in the race. In the meantime, I expect there will be a good pace and I think Hong Kong Super Star and Diamond Supreme are capable to deliver strong finishes in this race.
In the Boston Handicap, Elite Sixty-Six had a nice run in his Happy Valley debut a fortnight ago, just narrowly defeated by the margin of short head. He will again be partnered by Darren Beadman and I hope he will continue to perform well tonight. Both Soaring River and Fun are specialists in Happy Valley Ha1200m race, and I think these two runners can also produce some good results in this event.
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