On a personal note, I was humbled and honoured to be elected Chairman of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities this week. I would like to pay tribute to the founding Chairman Louis Romanet for his outstanding and sustained contribution to our sport over the past 27 years.
I wish Louis all the best for the future and acknowledge the huge responsibility of leading the IFHA on the global stage.
Election as IFHA Chairman is not only recognition of me personally and all those who have supported me during the years, but it is also recognition of Asia in general and, more specifically, the Club with its tremendous talent and people.
Having developed from a local racing organisation with regional outreach to one of the leading racing organisations globally is a remarkable achievement.
For me, international racing is an abiding passion and Saturday night’s Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes, which headlines the Club’s first-ever simulcast day from Ireland, features a small but strong field of four runners over 2000 metres at Leopardstown.
It looks to me like a fascinating showdown between the formidable teams of trainer Dermot Weld, jockey Colin Keane and the classy mare Tarnawa against trainer Aidan O’Brien, jockey Ryan Moore and this season’s top three-year-old colt St Mark’s Basilica.
The pace will be set by Poetic Flare, a genuine Group 1 miler, with regular rider Kevin Manning and the seemingly overmatched Patrick Sarsfield with Declan McDonogh. When the real running begins, it should come down to the two superstars Tarnawa and St Mark’s Basilica. There is not much between them but I give a slight edge to Tarnawa. She has to concede three pounds to her younger rival, which is no easy feat, and will need to be at her very best.
The Irish Champion Stakes is the fifth of eight races as part of our Saturday night simulcast card and will be run at 9:45 pm Hong Kong time.
One of the joys over the past week in Hong Kong has been the graduated return of racing fans to Sha Tin and Happy Valley under appropriate health and safety protocols with the energy and passion of our customers immediately restoring a long-awaited wave of excitement.
The electricity generated by fans at Happy Valley, in particular, makes the City Circuit one of the most unique racecourses in the world. With just over 5,000 fans revelling in the balmy conditions at the Valley’s season-opener on Wednesday, it was a reminder of what had been taken away by the virus.
We hope the stabilising conditions in Hong Kong will continue to allow us to gradually work towards hosting larger crowds and the sight of 15,000 customers at Sha Tin the previous Sunday for the first meeting of the year was especially heartening.
While the trainers’ championship is still very much in its infancy after only two meetings, the jockeys’ championship has already adopted a certain familiarity with Karis Teetan, Zac Purton and Joao Moreira – last season’s top three in reverse order – quickly surging to the head of the table once more.
Joao and Zac have even shared the past eight championships with four titles each, but Karis will desperately hope he can upset the status quo and ride a century of winners in a season in Hong Kong for the first time after posting 93 in 2019/20.
At Sha Tin on Sunday, the Choi Hung Handicap is our Class 2 feature and will be run over 1000 metres as the ninth race of the day. The pace will be good as jockey Vagner Borges will use the gate speed of We The South to join Winner Method to cross over from their far-side barrier draws. Valiant Dream, Trillion Win and Gold Chest will all be in close contention.
Trillion Win won over the track, course and distance in his debut race last season and is a place chance. He enjoyed a good trial as part of his preparation and will get every chance underneath Alexis Badel from just behind the early leaders.
Gold Chest has won first up in each of his last two seasons and his recent trial caught the eye. Jockey Chad Schofield will have him in striking position and I make him a place chance.
Super Wealthy has changed stables to David Hayes and, while he is not a 1000m specialist, he is working very well and will likely come with a late run for a place.
Vincent Ho will have Valiant Dream in the mix from the start and he is also a place chance.
Winner Method’s track work is excellent and he is a 1000m specialist. Danny Shum is a trainer whose horses are well advanced in their preparations early in the season. Winner Method is a young, upcoming sprinter and should manage the step up in class to Class 2. I make him a win and place chance.
Winner Method will be ridden by Karis Teetan and is eligible for the Club’s $1 million High Achievement Bonus.
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