And so we come towards the end of a very busy and positive week in the Hong Kong season.
Of course, I appreciate concern voiced about having only two days between meetings at Sha Tin and Happy Valley. This places an additional burden on our people in the Club and the media but we hope for their understanding that we stayed with holding the meeting on Wednesday.
Happy Wednesday at the Valley is now a Global Brand with the day marked in diaries of so many tourists and HK customers well in advance.
Past experience shows that switching from Wednesday to Thursday did not work well for attendance, but this week we recorded increased attendance and turnover on the corresponding fixture last year. With over 17,500 customers coming to enjoy the Oktoberfest party last Wednesday, the atmosphere in the Beer Garden was great and we would like to thank all media and our teams for support in helping put the Happy Wednesday experience on display again.
This Sunday’s Sha Tin fixture is followed by a very strong Simulcast card from Longchamp, headed by the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
All eyes will be on Enable as she bids to become the eighth horse to win the great race twice but we also have topics of huge importance for discussion at the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA).
The HKJC and the Asian Racing Federation have always been committed to promoting best practices on the issue of medication and doping agents, which was highlighted again with a strong statement at the Asian Racing Conference in Seoul earlier this year in May.
Not every jurisdiction has been implementing these minimum standards but I would like to see these principles adopted globally. Fair competition, integrity and horse welfare demand that laboratories around the world have the power to detect doping agents, especially when it comes to the top races in the world, and this debate will be a major discussion point during the IFHA conference.
The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is our first Simulcast race and last year’s winner Enable dominates the betting.
Along with Winx – who won her 21st Group 1 in Flemington this Saturday – Enable was my choice for the best horse in the world in 2017 and she returned from an injury setback convincingly on Polytrack at Kempton.
Her trainer John Gosden is bullish, especially with Frankie Dettori on board. John is a genius as a trainer and with his yard so full of stars he can well assess her fitness. She is the horse to beat.
Sea of Class, owned by Sunderland Holdings which is a company of the Hong Kong Tsui Family, is an improving 3-y-o filly who should not be underestimated. Her victories in the Irish Oaks and Yorkshire Oaks were very impressive.
Last not least I must note Waldgeist, who is owned by two famous breeders, trained by French genius Andre Fabre and ridden by Pierre-Charles Boudot. His last win showed real class and he is at least a place chance.
For Sunday’s Sha Tin ten-race, Race 6 is a Class 4 mile named the Chinese Recreation Club Challenge Cup and there is no real pace in the race. The early sectionals will be exceptionally slow. With no clear leader, I expect that Sichuan Boss will push forward from his wide draw under ten pound claiming apprentice Victor Wong and take up a forward position. He is second up off a promising seasonal debut and is a place chance. This is a rare appearance for Sichuan Boss at Sha Tin as 13 of his last 14 races have been at the Valley, but his one run during that period at the big track was good.
Bring It On has improved this season and this will be his third start on the young season. He has shown enough to be a win and place chance from a midfield run and will be doing his best work at the finish.
Pakistan Friend stretches out in trip for the first time, though the expected tempo may be slow, the 4-y-o can run very good sectionals in the last furlong and the additional 200m should be in his favour and therefore is my first choice. Master Bernini could improve from his last run two weeks ago and is an outsider in this event.
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