Monthly Archives: 12/2020

The start of the new year heralds the start of new beginnings and new opportunities and that, for me, holds true as much for horse racing as life itself. The pandemic means 2020 is a wretched year we would prefer to forget but, after 12 months of turmoil and disruption, it is with a fresh…

Who would have thought Christmas 2020 would involve people all over the world being asked to stay at home instead of heading off to celebrate with family and friends? All our lives have changed dramatically since the Covid-19 pandemic began to spread early in 2020 and there are still some tough times ahead before society…

And so, we come to the final Happy Valley meeting of 2020. There is no question this has been one of the strangest and most confronting years in the history of our spectacular city track. If ever a racecourse was built to welcome a party crowd then this is the one, but Covid-19 concerns have…

One champion departs as another announces himself. It is a theme that has repeated itself throughout the history of Hong Kong racing and it has come around again with the news that Beauty Generation is to retire in the very same week that Golden Sixty finally replaced him as the highest rated horse in town.…

The Bubble stayed intact and Hong Kong racing can now take pride and reflect on what can be learned from the most challenging and rewarding LONGINES HKIR week in history. Amazingly, it is now almost 11 months since the risk level for Coronavirus moved from Serious to Emergency – forcing us to go Behind Closed…

And so we come to a day that everyone in Hong Kong racing has been working towards. LONGINES Hong Kong International Races has showcased the best of Hong Kong racing to the world through four decades now and the build-up to the 2020 renewal has been the most challenging on record. From the moment we…

A quick glance down the list of previous winners tells you all you need to know about the calibre of rider needed to win the LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship. From Douglas Whyte and Ryan Moore to Zac Purton and Joao Moreira through to Frankie Dettori and Christophe Soumillon, the world’s most sought-after jockey challenge is…

The arrival of star international horses always signals that LONGINES HKIR week is at hand and it was good to see our first Japanese visitors – including last year’s Hong Kong Mile hero Admire Mars – arriving safely at Sha Tin in midweek. The rest of our international visitors from Japan, France, Ireland and Singapore…

There is a clear contrast between the excitement level on the racecourse and the caution we must show in our day to day business as November turns to December. A strong crop of youngsters is essential for boosting the depth of Hong Kong racing and time will probably show that Sunday at Sha Tin was…