There’s been no racing in Hong Kong for more than seven weeks but there’s still been plenty happening. Here are some of the off-season’s more newsworthy events.

Ng sets sights on Korea features

Hong Kong will again have a presence in Korea’s international features, with Pierre Ng Pang-chi-trained pair Duke Wai and Apache Pass leaving Hong Kong for Seoul on Monday ahead of Sunday’s Group Three Korea Sprint (1,200m) and Group Three Korea Cup (1,800m).

When Computer Patch and Kings Shield travelled to Korea 12 months ago, the Covid-19 pandemic meant it was the first time in more than three years Hong Kong had been represented abroad.

While that pair failed to join Tony Millard’s 2016 Korea conqueror Super Jockey on the honour roll, Ng is hopeful Korea Sprint runner Duke Wai and Korea Cup participant Apache Pass can produce their best on the testing Seoul sand.

“They had one trial and one good gallop and we’re happy enough with their fitness level,” Ng said of his gallopers, who missed a trial on Friday because of Super Typhoon Saola. “It’s not ideal but it is what it is and we’ll keep going.”

Star Australian jockey Damian Lane will partner the pair, and Ng departs for Seoul on Wednesday, meaning he will miss Sunday’s Hong Kong season opener at Sha Tin.

“He [Lane] has got experience on dirt in Japan and it’s quite similar to Korea, so hopefully he can help us get some prize money,” Ng said.

Warrior continues Cox Plate preparation

Duke Wai and Apache Pass weren’t the only overseas-bound gallopers to have their preparations hindered by the typhoon, with Romantic Warrior missing a trial before entering quarantine at Sha Tin over the weekend.

Danny Shum Chap-shing will instead put his superstar, who flies to Australia on September 16 ahead of October’s Group One Turnbull Stakes (2,000m) and Group One Cox Plate (2,040m), through a rare night gallop to ensure he is meeting Australian quarantine requirements.

To guarantee enough of a buffer after the close of Sha Tin’s regular stables, the three-time Group One winner will emerge from quarantine for an 8pm gallop on Tuesday night.

Romantic Warrior has had one trial since his last-start second in May’s Group One Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m), moving nicely over 1,200m on the all-weather track on August 25, and connections remain pleased with the five-year-old’s condition despite his recent hiccup

One superstar galloper who did step out at Monday’s replacement trials was Lucky Sweynesse, meaning Manfred Man Ka-leung’s three-time Group One winner will go just six days between his final warm-up effort and his return in Sunday’s Class One HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup (1,200m) at Sha Tin.

“That typhoon certainly has wreaked havoc and it’s not great when you need to trial on a Monday and it’s hot and then have your first start on the Sunday six days later carrying 135 pounds. The horse is a trier, he’s going to give everything he’s got, so the risk is – going forward – how much does that take out of him?” said Lucky Sweynesse’s regular jockey Zac Purton.

There have been some concerns disruption to trackwork and trials caused by the typhoon would impact entries for the season opener and Lucky Sweynesse faces only five rivals, while only one of Sunday’s 10 races boasts a full field.

Delayed starts for Ho, Golden Sixty

Vincent Ho Chak-yiu will miss this weekend’s season opener as he continues to recover from the injuries he suffered in a race fall in Japan in July.

While Ho was pushing to be available for Sunday’s card, the Jockey Club confirmed on Monday that he isn’t quite ready after fracturing his T5 vertebra and will instead return on September 17.

Ho’s brutal fall at Niigata racecourse meant he missed a long-awaited trip to the UK to ride at Glorious Goodwood and in the Shergar Cup, with fellow local jockey Matthew Chadwick taking his place in the Shergar Cup at Ascot.

Chadwick and a Rest Of The World team also boasting Joao Moreira and Kazuo Yokoyama finished a narrow second, while Chadwick finished equal second in the individual standings behind Hollie Doyle.

Ho’s most famous partner in crime, Golden Sixty, is also facing a delayed start to his campaign, with trainer Francis Lui Kin-wai suggesting the three-time Horse of the Year won’t race until December’s Group One Hong Kong Mile.

“He’s eight years old now so I don’t want to squeeze him,” Lui said of his superstar, who hasn’t run since his win in April’s Group One Champions Mile. “It could be [his last run], but of course we will see. He might win easily.”

Bowman wins Singapore Derby

Ho and Chadwick were among a string of Hong Kong-based jockeys who tried their hand abroad during the off-season and Hugh Bowman cashed in again just a week after riding a double on closing day at Sha Tin on July 16, winning the Singapore Derby aboard Golden Monkey.

Bowman then headed to Australia for a handful of rides before returning to Singapore to finish second with Golden Monkey in the Lion City Cup on August 27.

Dylan Mo Hin-tung also paid a visit to Singapore, going winless from 10 rides, while Brenton Avdulla, Luke Currie, Luke Ferraris and Matthew Poon Ming-fai joined Bowman in riding in Australia, with Currie the only one to taste success.

Lyle Hewitson married partner Hannah in South Africa during the off-season and that wasn’t the only highlight of his trip home, with the 25-year-old landing two victories from 16 rides while he was there.

Alexis Badel made his presence felt in his first World All-Star Jockeys appearance in Japan, winning the fourth and final leg of the series before finishing the competition fifth overall.

Purton will travel to Australia twice next month to partner Light Infantry in the Group One King Charles III Stakes and the Cox Plate.

Dettori’s Hong Kong visit gathers steam

Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said in June there was a “good chance” Hong Kong fans would get a glimpse of Frankie Dettori before his expected retirement, and there seems a very real chance December’s Hong Kong International Races could be the Italian maestro’s final day in the saddle.

In a column for The Telegraph last month, Dettori wrote “at the moment I look like finishing at Hong Kong’s international meeting in December. Marc Chan, who is based there, has been a great supporter in my last few seasons and he is keen for me to ride Kinross and his other locally trained horses there”.

Just days after those comments, Dettori took out the Group Two City Of York Stakes aboard Kinross and trainer Ralph Beckett confirmed the Group One Hong Kong Mile is very much on the agenda for Chan’s galloper.

Uncertainty shrouds Macau racing

Rumours about the future of racing in Macau have bubbled away throughout much of the Hong Kong off-season, with suggestions the sport could be wound up within months.

While it is believed the new season will begin on September 29, there are fears the Macau Jockey Club won’t be given approval to continue racing in the long-term after failing to deliver on the large-scale improvement works it promised when its lease was extended in 2018.

A drop in meetings, races and turnover – together with an ailing horse population – means the product is a shadow of its former self and the MJC has suffered huge losses in recent years.

Jockey Club extends prize money to sixth place

Prize money will now be paid down to sixth in all Hong Kong races, rather than just in Group Ones and the Derby.

Two per cent of total prize money will be allocated to sixth, with the club “constantly reviewing its policies as it strives to improve the ownership experience for its valued owners” and officials “hoping the allocation of prize money to sixth place will assist in providing returns on investments”.

Newnham, Mo build stables

Incoming trainers Mark Newnham and Cody Mo Wai-kit have been busy building their stables ahead of their maiden Hong Kong seasons, but neither will have a runner on opening day.

Mo, who begins his training career after a lengthy apprenticeship under Tony Cruz, has 36 horses in his stable, with former Frankie Lor Fu-chuen-trained galloper True Legend his highest rated on 89.

Newnham has 35 gallopers under his care and has landed the 102-rated Tourbillon Diamond from Shum, while both trainers have picked up horses from retiring trio Peter Ho Leung, Richard Gibson and Millard.

Millard’s surprise departure

While Gibson announced his retirement in June and Ho was forced out at season’s end after again failing to meet the Jockey Club’s trainers’ benchmark, confirmation of Millard’s departure – and the arrival of jockey Andrea Atzeni – only came in late July.

“Tony is an exceptional horseman and trainer,” Andrew Harding, the Jockey Club’s executive director of racing, said. “He has played a significant part in contributing to the growth of Hong Kong racing’s global status and quality over the last two and a half decades, through producing world-class racehorses including the likes of Ambitious Dragon, Super Jockey and Panfield.

“During his 24-year training career in Hong Kong, Tony recorded a total number of 709 winners, which is the 11th highest since 1971 when horse racing in Hong Kong turned professional.

“It is a truly remarkable achievement in an extremely competitive environment over such a long period of time, which is a testament to Tony’s training ability.

“On behalf of the club, I want to express deep gratitude to Tony for his significant contribution to Hong Kong racing, and wish him and his wife Beverley, who is also a superb horsewoman and has done so much to contribute to the success of the stable, all the best in the future.”