HKIR ‘one of the greatest days of Hong Kong racing’ despite scary incident with track invader
Some quick thinking from Jockey Club starter Chris McMullen ensures a crisis is averted, while record number of tourists attend
A protester calling for a deeper investigation into the Tai Po fire almost cancelled Hong Kong’s richest horse race on Sunday, but even that could not stop Jockey Club boss Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges calling it one of the city’s “greatest days”.
With a record number of tourists making the trip to Sha Tin, and two of the city’s stars cementing their places among the world’s greatest racehorses, not even a drop in turnover could dim the CEO’s delight at the climax of the Hong Kong International Races week.
Romantic Warrior made history by winning the HK$40 million (US$5.14 million) Hong Kong Cup for a fourth time, and with Ka Ying Rising’s victory in the Hong Kong Sprint taking him to within one win of equalling Silent Witness’ city record of 17 straight triumphs, it was a banner day for the sport.
And while fewer people came to see it, with a crowd of 43,993 almost 40 per cent down on last year, more than 13,000 of those travelled from outside the city.
“Today was, in our view, a very, very special day where we saw tremendous sport. We are really proud that we had so many international guests coming,” Engelbrecht-Bresges said.
Turnover dropped marginally, down 3.16 per cent as punters wagered a little more than HK$1.64 billion, although Engelbrecht-Breges said the day was “never about turnover. Today is about world-class sport”.