This year’s World Cup has come to an end, and now we look forward to the next tournament in Brazil in four years' time. I expect many of you stayed up to watch this year's final in the early hours of Monday morning HK time, when Andres Iniesta scored the only goal deep in the second half of extra time, securing Spain its first World Cup victory in history.
It was quite a physical match, as shown by the 14 yellow cards given out by the referee, including two to Dutch defender Johnny Heitinga which resulted in his being sent off. But still, I thought the match was very entertaining. The Netherlands had some good chances to have won the game in normal time, but in the end Spain deserved victory for their overall dominance and superior possession.
I have to give credit to the Dutch players for their sporting gesture after the match, despite the deep disappointment they must have felt at losing the final for the third time. After the Spanish team received their medals and trophy, the Dutch players lined up in two rows to welcome them back on to the pitch and congratulate them. It was a very special moment and the first time, I think, that this has happened at the presentation ceremony of a major football tournament. It reflects the great sportsmanship and manner of the Dutch players.
We also had a memorable presentation ceremony at Sha Tin last Sunday, when the Champion Awards were given out to honour this season's top horses and horsemen for their outstanding performances.
I think top sprinter Sacred Kingdom was a well-deserved winner of Horse of the Year for his emphatic trio of Group One victories in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint, Kent & Curwen Centenary Sprint Cup and Chairman’s Sprint Prize. He was also voted Most Popular Horse by our racing fans. I hope he will recover from his health setback and producing more outstanding performances on our home turf when he returns next season.
John Size was again crowned Champion Trainer, which is his sixth title since he moved his training base here from Australia nine years ago. He has again shown a great touch in keeping his horses on top form this season, with his rising star Entrapment breaking the Hong Kong record as the first racehorse to win seven times in a single season. Another John’s runner Brave Kid also notched up six winners before he finished third in the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby in March.
Douglas Whyte will have to wait until tonight to know whether he has been able to retain his Champion Jockey title, but on Sunday he secured our fans' choice as Most Popular Jockey for the third consecutive year. Douglas has delivered some very consistent performances as always this season, and has again achieved a century of winners this season with his victory on board Showtime last Sunday.
I'm sure all racing fans will be closely following tonight's final battle with Brett Prebble for the jockeys' championship. Going into tonight's meeting, Brett still trails Douglas by two winners, at 100-98. Coincidentally, his number of second placings is also two behind, but Douglas enjoys substantial advantage in the number of third place finishes.
If the two jockeys finish on the same number of winners, the title will be decided on countbacks of their second and subsequently third place finishes. This means that if Brett wants to claim his first Champion Jockey title in Hong Kong, he not only needs to gain at least two more wins than Douglas tonight, but also secure some good placings in his other races. Brett has seven rides tonight against Douglas's five, but I'm certain Douglas will not let the title slip easily, and will try his hardest to make those five rides count.
Apart from the Champion Jockey award, we will also be presenting awards this evening to the Champion Apprentice, Most Improved Horse and winner of the HK$1 million 2008 Hong Kong International Sales Bonus, all of which depend on tonight's results. You can also enjoy a buy-one-get-one-free offer in the Beer Garden. So please come along to Happy Valley after work to enjoy the party mood at this season's racing finale. It will be a happy Wednesday night not to be missed and I hope you all have a great time tonight.
Personally, I think the final round of battle between Douglas and Brett will promise to be a great finale. However, it will be a bit difficult for Brett to make up the wins required, as Douglas has a very good chance in the Lucky Handicap with Ho Wongchoy. This four-year-old produced some consistent performances in recent months, as he finished in the money in all his past six starts. The expected good to slow pace should be ideal for him and let’s see if he can help his trainer Andreas Schutz to reach the trainers’ performance target of 13 winners. Our Club Chairman Dr John Chan’s How Wonderful performed nicely in his previous start at Happy Valley. His trainer Tony Millard has had some brilliant results in recent meetings and I’ll be interested to see if he can bring some luck to the Chairman this time.
In the Bravo Handicap, the last race of this very successful season, Douglas’ ride Tai Sing Yeh will clearly be the favourite, but I think he’s not unbeatable. Opponents like Good Strike, who was severely checked last time out, and other recent performers such as Willing Storm and Perfect Style, can be the ones to spoil the party. Anyway, I hope to see you in the season finale tonight.
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