Our spring internationals came to a close last weekend following wins from Lucky Bubbles and Contentment and many congratulations to their deserving connections. Unfortunately, though, I was shocked and saddened to see Rapper Dragon suffered a rare pelvis fracture during the race, and passed away later due to the severe complications of this injury.
As you know, all of our horses must undergo pre-race vet checks, and there were no issues identified with Rapper Dragon before racing. The Club’s veterinary protocols are particularly rigorous, with a separation between our clinical veterinarians and regulatory veterinarians. The clinical care and monitoring of each horse within the Department of Veterinary Clinical Services is outstanding. This is coupled with our regulatory vets from the Department of Veterinary Regulation and Biosecurity Policy who independently check the suitability of each horse to race on the day prior to racing, and then observe the actions of each horse on race day, particularly behind the barriers. Further to these checks, all horses in Hong Kong are tested for any prohibited substances on the morning of each race day. Overall, we do the best possible job to ensure the safety of both the horse and the rider as well as the integrity of all participants in our races and these efforts are regarded as a platinum standard in the industry.
I’ve offered my sympathies to his connections, particularly his owner Albert Hung, and for all those who cared so well for Rapper Dragon throughout his life. I’m sure that all of our racing fans will remember Rapper Dragon fondly for his great accomplishments on the track.
Racing returns to Happy Valley tonight with an eight race card, the first of our Le French May-themed nights. Tonight’s seventh race is the very competitive Cornwall Handicap, a Class 2 event over 1800m of the “A” course. The pace should be good as Magical Beauty is now up to 1800m and is expected to go forward along with Happy Spirit. Big Bang Bong should sit close along with Speedy Longwah, who should settle well from an inside draw. Packing Dragon and What Else But You are both drawn wide and could cover a bit of extra ground. Friends Of Ka Ying and Winnie’s Honey should get midpack trips with Dynamism and Rocketeer further behind. Gonna Run and Divine Boy are likely to be near the rear.
Packing Dragon is working very well and has succeeded over this course and distance on three occasions, and also won when drawn wide over the 1650m trip, a race that secured the Happy Valley Million Challenge in February. While he often races forward, I’m guessing his jockey Chad Schofield will try to secure some cover going into the first turn. He is a win and place chance, along with What Else But You, who is also seeking a fourth win this season, though in what would be his first at Happy Valley. Dynamism has run two good seconds over this trip at Happy Valley earlier in the season and is a contender too. Happy Spirit is an intriguing longshot chance with Alvin Ng engaged to ride. While he has been away from the races since mid-February, Alvin has done all of the work on this horse and they were partnered in a decent barrier trial several weeks ago. He is more well drawn than some others though will still need to work out a trip in what is a wide open race.
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