Earlier this week I spoke at the 2017 International Heritage Conservation Conference, which was hosted at our Happy Valley Clubhouse for the second time. The theme for this year’s conference – “Sustainable social and economic benefits in built heritage conservation” – was very relevant to Hong Kong given the intense pressure on our land resources. I spoke about our experience with a wide range of heritage projects including the Central Police Station revitalisation, discussing the many lessons we have learned through the years. I’m certain those in attendance had a productive conference and am thankful to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors for their organization of the event and inviting me to address the delegates.
We are deep into the BMW Hong Kong Derby season, and I invite all of you to visit our website which provides some incredible detail regarding the race which has been run here for over 140 years. You can view some replays of past Derbies dating to the 1980s and follow all the details of our potential Derby stars of today too.
Our Sha Tin races tomorrow feature some elite four-year-olds hoping to enhance their chance of being selected in the Derby field before the runners are announced next week. The focus is on the last race of the day, the Class 2 Taipa Handicap. Britannia Stakes winner Limitless won impressively last time out on Classic Cup day and leads the group of five Derby entrants in the field of 14.
Tomorrow is also our annual interport event, the Class 1 Hong Kong Macau Trophy. It is run as race 7 and is a Class 1 handicap with a rating band of 110 to 90 for Hong Kong horses and 125 to 95 for Macau horses with a weight reduction of 15 pounds from their official Macau rating.
Hong Kong horses have, in the last years, dominated the race in Hong Kong, though there was a good performance from The Alfonso last year, who was a bit unlucky in the run and could have caused an upset.
This year’s race sees a very strong Hong Kong team and a win of a Macau horse would be a surprise. The pace is expected to be good though it could be good-to-slow, which slightly favours horses in good positions closer to the pace. Jolly Banner has been most consistent in this group and should start well and probably will enjoy the run of the race. Both River Bobo and Dashing Fellow are likely to lead Jolly Banner with Sparta and Lucky Year behind. Racing Supernova should sit behind the main speed with Simply Invincible and New Asia Sunrise, who is likely to be caught wide. Invincible Dragon should be behind those with Bobo So Cute near the rear with Kelowna Star and Romantic Touch.
Jolly Banner is working very well and is my first choice with Racing Supernova who is the choice of Joao Moreira. Last time, he got into the clear a bit late and was running out of ground to catch up, but was beaten only a half-length by Invincible Dragon, a horse who I see at least as a place chance. Bobo So Cute won his last race in Macau and is trained by MC Tam. He is the best chance of the Macau horses for me.
The final race of the day is the Taipa Handicap, a Class 2 with some key Hong Kong Derby entrants which could hope for their final chance to impress before the selections announcement. There is no legitimate front runner, so I think Circuit Hassler, with a low weight, will go forward. Helene Super Star and Who Dat Singa should be in close pursuit with Prawn Baba and Basic Trilogy behind. Solar Hei Hei might race wide without cover. I would expect Limitless to settle well off the pace again. The pace is likely to be good-to-slow.
While the pace might not be best for those looking to close from far back, I was very impressed with the run of Limitless last time and have to make him my main win and place hope in this race. Supreme Profit is in great form and also a win and place chance. Who Dat Singa had a tough trip last time and still was a decent third last time. He could run another good race here and get a placing, as could Prawn Baba.
Comment
