With superstar Golden Sixty leading the charge, domestic horses dominated at a spellbinding edition of the Longines Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) on Sunday at Sha Tin
Hong Kong is rightly basking in the glory of a momentous week of racing when its three poster horses, Golden Sixty, Romantic Glory and Lucky Sweynesse — 19 G1 wins combined, all of them in the top 10 horses in the world in latest Thoroughbred Racing Commentary Global Rankings — each emerged triumphant on Sunday’s international card at Sha Tin.
This, combined with home-grown talent Vincent Ho beating a collection of the world’s best in the International Jockeys’ Championship at Happy Valley last Wednesday, made for an unbelievable week of achievement for a racing capital that went professional only 52 years ago.
Make no mistake, the days of dismissing this Far East enclave as a racing backwater are long gone – and with the vibrancy of its racing and the insatiable punters who gamble on it so keenly, explains why the Hong Kong model is such a financial success. Wagering of HK$1.679bn (about $217m in US terms) on a 10-race card — which they did on the HKIR at the weekend — would be impressive in any currency.
Longtime Hong Kong Jockey Club CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges was understandably delighted. “In my humble opinion, I’ve been here now for 25 years and this was one of the best - if not the best - days of racing we have had in Hong Kong,” he said.
Global stage
“If I look at the situation after Covid, after we had last year already a good meeting, but today Hong Kong racing has established (itself) again on the global stage and has shown what sporting entertainment means.”
It was hard to disagree. However, looking at the stars who graced Sha Tin … well, there are always critics whose chippy response to such results will be the question: but what did they beat?
How about this? When Romantic Warrior, the celebrated Cox Plate winner returned home from Melbourne and beat Irish-trained Luxembourg, a multiple G1 winner, a short head in the Hong Kong Cup, he brought together form lines that directly linked such as Auguste Rodin, Mostahdaf and Bay Bridge – all of them G1 winners in Europe – plus Mr Brightside and Alligator Blood in Australia, stars of similar ilk Down Under. James McDonald described Romantic Warrior as “the toughest racehorse I’ve ever sat on”.
But if that was the race of the day — which it was in terms of the intensity of battle at the finish — the most memorable, emotional and heartfelt winner was the incredible eight-year-old Golden Sixty.
The ‘Pride of Hong Kong’ combined with Ho for their 26th victory together, overcoming a wide draw (14 of 14) to pulverise a strong field in the Hong Kong Mile which included local HK Derby winner Voyage Bubble and the Japanese winner of the G1 Mile Championship in Kyoto, Namur.
Breathtaking acceleration
The winner’s acceleration was simply breathtaking. The 65,252 crowd erupted when Ho unleashed the champion on the outside of the big field, and they were in raptures as the the victorious duo paraded in front of the stands afterwards.
The ‘feel’ is back on the racetrack after Covid and so too is the ‘connect’ between loyal racegoers and star participants. This was so obvious as local idol Ho – a modest, humble character in private – waved to the stands coming back on Golden Sixty.
That connect was also evident when Joao Moreira, a longtime hero with the fans back for one day, climbed aboard his first mount, Capital Delight, prior to the third race. There were waves of applause from every section of the parade ring as he passed them.
The jockey responded, touching his heart numerous times. They were probably yearning for the return of days when the ‘Magic Man’ rode five, six, seven winners at a meeting.
A word, too, about Lucky Sweynesse, one of the world’s best sprinters, who landed the Hong Kong Sprint but only after he took his time building momentum under Zac Purton. His trainer Manfred Man has been under pressure from grandstand critics, who claim he has runs the gelding too often, hardly giving him a break. A career record of 15-21 record rather belies that accusation.
Hong Kong racing is still thriving, though there are signs on the street that a cost-of-living crisis has taken a grip.
The political sensitivity attached to having a gambling sport like horse racing being so inherently a part of the community in a ‘Special Region’ governed by China – where gambling is outlawed elsewhere – has never been greater.
Interesting news
Engelbrecht-Bresges has been in ongoing dialogue on the matter with Chinese officials for well over a decade. As well as how racing affects life in Hong Kong, the subject of Conghua racecourse on the outskirts of Gwangzhou constantly resurfaces, and there was interesting news this week of the adventurous facility and its future.
Engelbrecht-Bresges revealed that an extensive construction program is under way at Conghua, with 450 stables and a staff hotel being built, with a topping-out planned for February next year. There are also plans for a grandstand and parade ring to be built.
He says that in 2026-27, Conghua could have as many as seven fixtures each season to complement the existing calendar, which features 88 racedays as standard. The Conghua dates would be on a Saturday or a Sunday and also incorporate up to six or seven simulcast races from other parts of the world. The HKJC has permission to provide simulcast betting on 37 overseas meetings.
Engelbrecht-Bresges (right) was pressed as ever on whether this was an indication that the green light to provide a betting service on Conghua was imminent. “My answer is the same as before,” he said. “I am not going to speculate on this. You cannot do something when you don’t have permission, simple as that.”
That said, the HKJC’s investment in Conghua is to continue. Another $550m on the grandstand and $260m on stables rings up the grand total so far to $2.5bn. And yes, we are talking US dollars here, not Hong Kong dollars.
A lot of confidence is being shown – to the point where some would ask, when does the speculation end and reality kick in?
• View previous articles in the View from the Rail series
• Visit the Hong Kong Jockey Club website
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View the latest TRC Global Rankings for horses / jockeys / trainers / sires