Happy Lucky Dragon Win | Orfevre & Co: underrated but out of this world
An Australian, Englishman and Frenchman walk into a bar, and bump into a bloke from Japan. It’s not the basis of a joke, but an interesting case study of the cultural differences officials face when working on the World’s Best Racehorse Rankings.
An Australian, Englishman and Frenchman walk into a bar, and bump into a bloke from Japan. It’s not the basis of a joke, but an interesting case study of the cultural differences officials face when working on the World’s Best Racehorse Rankings.
Imagine if the rankings committee made its decisions in a bar: the Australian would be loudly extolling the virtues of “the best sprinters in the world”, the Englishman would scoff at the Australian arrogance, and the Frenchman would probably leave for a much cooler wine bar around the corner. All the while, the Japanese official would nod and say thank you, despite his horses appearing to be every bit as good, if not better, than the rest in nearly every category.
Japan’s infamously insular attitude may imply they don’t even care where outsiders rate their horses, but this week they may get their due.
The trouble with the awards for highest-rated horses in the categories of sprint, middle distance and staying distance events being handed out at the gala ball before the Hong Kong International Races last year is that there were still a few big races remaining for 2013, including Sha Tin’s four December features.
