When the World Pool was launched at Royal Ascot in 2019, there was a clear goal to create a new dimension to commingling, enabling people around the world to make use of huge liquidity, resulting in a 60 percent spike in turnover.
Commingling unlocks racing’s global potential, allowing customers in Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, Singapore and the United States to place pari-mutuel wagers which are then commingled into Hong Kong pools on selected high-class international meetings.
In Hong Kong, the turnover on the simulcast from Epsom reached HK$304 million which compares strongly to the 2021 Dubai World Cup meeting’s outstanding figures of HK$332 million.
It is apparent the World Pool is an exciting wagering opportunity for customers around the world and the additional value in turnover to racing in general is increasingly substantial as we prepare to celebrate the fabulous five days of Royal Ascot from next Tuesday.
One of the most pleasing aspects of the 2020/21 term has been the continued sustained success of local jockeys Matthew Poon and Jerry Chau. Matthew is bearing down on his seasonal personal-best tally of 35 (achieved in 2017/18 and 2018/19) after partnering four winners at the past two meetings to have 34 victories so far.
While Vincent Ho, whose 54 winners include a stunning five G1s, is the leading local jockey with 54 winners, Jerry has accumulated 44 victories at a strike rate of 10.9 percent, with 105 placings at an impressive strike rate of 37.1 percent.
Derek Leung has also had a wonderful season, notching 38 winners – another career-high figure – while Matthew Chadwick passed the 400-win milestone in Hong Kong in April and has already bettered his 2019/20 harvest with 29 victories this term.
On Wednesday night at Happy Valley, there is no shortage of speed in the Class 2 Castle Peak Bay Handicap (1000m), which is carded as the eighth of nine races at the meeting. Multimillion (Tony Piccone), We The South (Matthew Poon), Harmony And Rich (Matthew Chadwick) and Valiant Dream (Karis Teetan) will all drive forward to set a swift tempo. Grateful Heart (Alexis Badel) and Lucky More (Zac Purton) will make good use of their inside draws to secure prominent positions.
Lucky More is second-up after a long absence which included more than three months at Conghua. He returned last month with a big effort in a rapidly-run 1000 metre race at Sha Tin and looks poised to deliver his best here. The one question mark is his ability to adapt to Happy Valley but his racing profile is a positive indicator. Jockey Zac Purton will make use of his tactical speed to be in close contention from the outset and he is my first choice for a win and place in a very open race.
Lucky More is one of four horses in the race eligible for the Club’s $HK1 million High Achievement Bonus for a Class 2 win before reaching the age of five. Each of the four horses have until the end of the current season before time expires.
Grateful Heart has drawn the rail as the top-rated horse in the field and Alexis Badel will make use of his gate speed to stay close. There was a substantial amount of blood in the trachea in his last start to explain the disappointing performance. This is a horse that seems better over six furlongs, however, and I make him only a place chance based on his solid record this season.
Hong Kong Win (Chad Schofield) has finished in the quinella in seven of nine races over the course and distance and makes his return after a five-month break. Trainer John Size has put the blinkers back on and his trackwork has been reasonable. I make him a place chance along with Explosive Witness (Blake Shinn) and We The South (Matthew Poon).
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