I believe many of you will have been as stunned as I was by the collapse of an old, five-storey building in To Kwa Wan last Friday, which claimed four lives. I watched the news reports that night and I must say it was a very sad experience. Some of the residents interviewed at the scene had been fortunate enough to escape from the building only seconds before its collapse. Although I don't understand much Cantonese, I could see just from their facial expressions how utterly terrified and despairing they felt at that moment.
Compounding the tragedy is the fact that many residents of old blocks such as these are already among the poorest in our society, including new migrants, ethnic minorities and destitute groups. The survivors have also now lost their homes and all their personal belongings.
As an organisation that has always been part of the local community, we believe the Club should provide some kind of assistance to the victims to help them overcome this difficult time, especially as the Lunar New Year will soon be approaching. After discussions with the Social Welfare Department, we have decided to allocate from the Club's Charities Trust, emergency relief of HK$20,000 to each affected household. The Department will co-ordinate the distribution of this relief, and we will keep in close touch with them to see if the victims require any further assistance.
I do hope their daily lives can return to normal very soon. My thoughts also go out to those families and friends who have lost loved ones in this tragedy.
While the glamour and excitement of a horse-racing afternoon may seem to be a world away from human tragedies such as these, it is worth remembering that every race meeting in Hong Kong earns valuable tax money for the public purse as well as surpluses for our charitable contributions, due to the Club's unique role as a not-for-profit organisation. It is your continued support for our racing activities that enables us to respond quickly and effectively to social needs as they arise.
In last Sunday's races, it was good to see Paul O'Sullivan's runner Fellowship finally prove his Group credentials as he grabbed his maiden Group 1 victory in the Stewards' Cup, in a hard-fought battle against the likes of Thumbs Up and Good Ba Ba. This success also gave his rider Zac Purton a first Group 1 victory in Hong Kong. Fellowship strikes me as being a very consistent horse and I hope he can produce more great runs in top mile events later this season.
Sacred Kingdom meanwhile lived up to his reputation as the world's top sprinter as he won easily in the Kent & Curwen Centenary Sprint Cup – his fifth victory at Group 1 level. I look forward to seeing how he performs in the Chairman's Sprint Prize – the second leg of the Hong Kong Speed Series – and then, perhaps, compete overseas again. His connections' current plans apparently include Japan or Dubai, then a defence of his KrisFlyer International Sprint title in Singapore later this season.
Tonight it's back to Happy Valley once more, where there will be eight races on offer. In the Rotary Centenary Challenge Cup, Manfred Man's Trainer Syndicate Horse Happy Seven is in impressive form as he won twice at Sha Tin this season. He will be switching to Happy Valley this time but I still think he can bring more joy to the syndicate members again. With the expected fast pace in this race, I hope Royal Pumpkin, who snatched two runner-up finishes at the Valley this season, will produce a fine performance despite he's drawn wide tonight.
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