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Topic: The marvel that is Hong Kong tracksPosted By: TJMitchell
Subject: The marvel that is Hong Kong tracks
Date Posted: 20 Oct 2016 at 12:03pm
"The facts of the rainfall were relatively simple, if impressive, with 159mm on the track up to 9am Wednesday but another 173.3mm then fell on Happy Valley before the first race, some 125mm of that hitting the course between 3pm and 5.30pm.
Yet the track was immediately upgraded from Soft to Yielding after race one and a further upgrade to Good To Yielding followed race three and by race seven, track Good was posted as the condition of the surface for a meeting which was almost in doubt just after 4.30pm."
It is astounding the amount of water these tracks can receive in HK yet by race 7 last night Happy Valley is back up into the good range.
Replies: Posted By: Lordy
Date Posted: 20 Oct 2016 at 12:23pm
If the surface is anything like what hey have at Toowoomba then I'm not surprised.
Last year's Toowoomba Cup they had nearly 200mm of rain in the 24 hours preceding. On the Saturday the track was officially rated as Heavy 8 and the meeting finished on a Soft 6. Somewhat misleading though as the track was actually racing very quickly. I believe they had a couple of track records. Some of the secionals were breaking 35 secs which was almost unheard of there as its a tight, undulating, uphill run.
Took a good 18 months for them to get that surface right. Now they have its about as good a wet weather track as you can get.
Posted By: djebel
Date Posted: 20 Oct 2016 at 12:23pm
Any biases ?
Isn't it the same surface as Moonee Valley and the Kensington track -Strathyr(?) ?
------------- reductio ad absurdum
Posted By: Lordy
Date Posted: 20 Oct 2016 at 12:29pm
djebel wrote:
Any biases ?
Isn't it the same surface as Moonee Valley and the Kensington track -Strathyr(?) ?
I would say yes. Don't think there is a turf track anywhere in the world that is uniform across the entire surface, particularly after a downpour.
Posted By: TJMitchell
Date Posted: 20 Oct 2016 at 2:41pm
I know they do some hand sowing sometimes
Posted By: subastral
Date Posted: 20 Oct 2016 at 3:40pm
And 0 scratchings. How can you not love HK!!
Posted By: TJMitchell
Date Posted: 20 Oct 2016 at 5:44pm
Tracks Team working on Happy Valley today. A tremendous job year round & last night's races, after 330mm of rain in 24hrs, proved it https://twitter.com/hashtag/thanks?src=hash" rel="nofollow - #thanks
Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 13 Jun 2018 at 10:12pm
Is there anything they haven’t thought of in Hong Kong racing’s brave new world?
https://www.thoroughbredracing.com/authors/kristen-manning/" rel="nofollow - Kristen Manning
|
June 11, 2018
The
Hong Kong Jockey Club’s magnificent new Conghua Training Centre is due
to open in mainland China in August. And it looks set to be a
gamechanger, elevating the jurisdiction still further in world racing.
Kristen Manning reports.
For two decades, the Hong
Kong Jockey Club has been keen to expand. It has had the financial
means, the motive of a flourishing local racing industry and the support
of all those involved. What it did not have was space.
When the
Club was formed by a group of enthusiastic racing fans in November 1844,
finding a suitable location for a racetrack was not so much of an
issue, and Happy Valley was built a year later on what used to be
swampland, the first meeting taking place in 1846.
And racing in
Hong Kong has not looked back, Sha Tin established on reclaimed land in
1978. It is now home to the Longines Hong Kong International Race Day
each December, a day that racegoers Down Under keep a close eye on, with
the likes of Sunline, Falvelon, Monopolize, Catalan Opening, Our Grey Invader, Kessem and Romanee Conti proving great representatives for Australasia.
The
competition has gotten tougher in recent years, with Australian and New
Zealand runners finding it harder to get into the winner's circle,
although several of the big day’s major stars have carried (AUS) and
(NZ) suffixes; such as Silent Witness, Sacred Kingdom, Fairy King Prawn and Vengeance Of Rain.
Initial aim realised
December 2017 was dominated by locally trained horses, but the International Sprint winner Mr Stunning, a son of Exceed And Excel, was bred in Australia while Beauty Generation proved too strong for his rivals in the International Mile. The New Zealand-bred son of Road To Rock raced in Australia as Montaigne, winning at Randwick and finishing second to Tarzino in the G1 Rosehill Guineas.
The
success of the day is something that the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s
Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges is extremely proud of, especially as it has
realised its initial aim: to enhance the overall quality of Hong Kong
racing and horses.
It was 1998 that saw the first Hong Kong-trained horse, Johan Cruyff,
make it into the international rankings (now the Longines World’s Best
Racehorse Rankings), a figure that increased to eight in 2008, to 21 by
2013 and 26 in 2016. Some eight percent of the world’s highest-rated
horses call Hong Kong home and all 11 of Sha Tin’s major races feature
in the world’s top 100 G1 races, according to the Longines/IFHA
(International Federation of Horseracing Authorities) figures.
But
still there are limitations, with the 22 trainers currently working in
Hong Kong permitted a maximum of 60 horses each and the current equine
population capped at 1,230. The racing is competitive and exciting but
there is a lengthy waiting list of owners, who wait four years for a
permit, and the Club is keen to increase the numbers.
Alluring possibility
For
two decades it wondered how. “We tried for years to source land but it
was impossible,” Engelbrecht-Bresges said. And then along came the 2010
Asian Games at Guangzhou, two years after Sha Tin was used to house the
horses competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
From which an alluring possibility arose. There is plenty of space in China.
And so an agreement was reached to purchase and develop “a major piece of land” in Conghua, 139 km north of Hong Kong.
Known
for its hot springs, Conghua is already a popular destination for local
tourists, and its mayor, recognising that the presence of the Hong Kong
Jockey Club is only going to increase awareness, has been supportive.
Not
that all has been smooth sailing, Engelbrecht-Bresges describing the
development of the Conghua Training Centre as “probably the most
demanding and significant project the Club has ever undertaken”.
“We
have overcome many challenges,” he said, “from establishing the first
equine disease-free zone in China ... to obtaining special permission
for cross-border transportation of horses, for our veterinarians to
practise in China, to be able to import feed and medication and to
establish the first comprehensive equine clinic on the mainland.”
All
the time keeping in mind that gambling is prohibited, the Club worked
hard to establish good working links with officials while its overriding
aim for a new training centre was to build something perfect for
trainers, owners, riders and workers and, most of all, for the horses.
“The horse comes first,” said John Ridley, Director Of Capital Racing Projects. “A happy horse gives his best.”
CHECK OUT THIS TIME-LAPSE VIDEO OF THE TURF INSTALLATION
And
so the Hong Kong Jockey Club has worked to ensure that Conghua is a
showpiece Thoroughbred establishment, one that consists of a 2000m turf
track (a 400m home straight with a one percent rise and a 674m home bend
with transitional curves) with the same grass profile as Sha Tin, as
well as large and small all-weather tracks, two trotting rings and an
1100m turf uphill gallop sloped at a continuous 1.5 percent.
Eight
single story and one double story stable blocks for horses in training
are designed to accommodate two trainers per divided stable, each with
34 stables and eight turn-out yards per wing, as well as two
larger-than-usual isolated stallion stalls, inside and outside wash
stalls and two covered walking machines.
In total, there are 664
individual CCTV monitored stalls, serviced by an equine clinic, chilled
salt-water spas, aqua treadmills, a water walker, a covered and heated
70m long swimming pool and 20 turf paddocks with shelter, feed bins and
automatic water.
Ideal environment for stallion prospects
Horses
will never come into contact with vehicles, with each having its own
access ways, while deliveries will be made away from the stables so as
not to cause any disruption.
The provision of paddocks in a quiet
area beyond the stables and tracks is a significant step for the Hong
Kong Jockey Club with Engelbrecht-Bresges recognising that Sha Tin is,
particularly for young horses, “an intense environment”.
It will
enable horses to be imported at a younger age as they can now be given
time to develop and mature and to acclimatize and, along with the
stallion boxes, it will also be easier to keep promising males entire.
“Our
prize money levels are attractive, but we need to keep adding value to
the ownership experience,” Engelbrecht-Bresges said, noting that Hong
Kong is the ideal environment to produce stallion prospects.
“Our
racing is of a high quality, it is substance-free and breeders know that
a stallion who has raced in Hong Kong is genetically sound and not
influenced by medication.”
It was a timely discussion given that Archipenko
(who sadly died recently), winner at Sha Tin of the G1 Queen Elizabeth
II Cup in 2008 was represented by a big winner at this year’s
International meeting, Time Warp impressively claiming the G1 Hong Kong International Cup.
Meanwhile, winning in Hong Kong in recent years has done plenty to enhance the reputation of such stud prospects of Maurice, Lord Kanaloa and Highland Reel.
Chosen
as one of the first trainers to complement his Sha Tin stables with a
base at Conghua is Caspar Fownes, who said that he “feels very
privileged” to be part of the new establishment.
“It is an
outstanding state-of-the-art training complex, with access to several
beneficial facilities that we don’t normally have access to in Hong
Kong, such as spelling paddocks, uphill gallops and water walkers. I am
sure that I will be able to use the set up to my advantage.”
Conghua is designed, said John Ridley, with “further expansion in mind. We can continue to grow over time”.
An 1100m turf uphill gallop sloped at a continuous 1.5 percent is a feature of the complex. Photo: Hong Kong Jockey Club
Not
only is there room for more stables and tracks, but space has been
allotted for the equine clinic to expand with future plans for MRI, CT
and scintigraphy equipment. Such a high standard is the veterinary care
that Dr Christopher Riggs, Head Of Veterinary Clinical Services, joked:
“If I were a horse, I know where I’d want to live!”
A major
challenge in the establishment of Conghua has been assuring that
racehorses never come into contact with disease. The welfare of horses
is paramount, firstly for their own wellbeing and secondly for the
economy of both horse racing and Hong Kong.
“We will not
compromise on horse health,” Engelbrecht-Bresges said, noting that the
Hong Kong Jockey Club pays HK$12 billion in taxes each year, around four
to five percent of Hong Kong’s revenue. “And so the government do not
want us to take any risks either.”
Security at Conghua is
exceptionally tight (comings and goings monitored not only by the Club
but by government officials) and the training centre is in the midst of a
2000 square km horse-free zone. And there are no horses 1km each side
of the freeway en route. “Even if horses have to be unloaded for any
reason, there will be no contact with local horses,” said Dr Brian
Stewart, Head Of Veterinary Regulation And Biosecurity Policy.
Electrified fencing and buried concrete
Mindful
that diseases such as rabies are present in China, Dr Stewart added
that the 2.3 metre high electrified fencing (supported by 600mm of
buried concrete to prevent burrowing) surrounding Conghua is specially
designed to make it impossible for a wild animal to penetrate the
borders.
“There is just so much at stake,” he said. while
admitting that “the greatest risk is people”. Which is why strict
protocols, overseen by quarantine officials from around the world, are
in place while everyone involved is highly trained and experienced.
“Hong
Kong has safely imported and exported thousands of horses over the past
25 years,” Dr Stewart noted, “and we have successfully managed
international racing events, temporarily importing up to 40
Thoroughbreds from many countries each year. Our disease surveillance
and preventative health measures are second to none.”
At present,
every horse in Hong Kong has its temperature taken twice daily, with
every horse displaying fever symptoms immediately tested. “This is the
most effective and sensitive early detection system.”
The owners’ lounge at Conghua will be impressively equipped. Photo: Hong Kong Jockey Club
Around
450 people (including strappers, track riders and farriers) have been
seconded from Hong Kong to work at Conghua while locals (over 1,500
applied when 100 stable-assistant positions were advertised and there
were similar numbers for riders) will be trained at the Huangcun Sports
Institute. Twenty five track riders, who also spend time at Sha Tin,
have been in training since 2016.
Another challenge for the Hong
Kong Jockey Club has been convincing local owners that sending their
horses across the border is a good idea. The typical Hong Kong owner is
very involved with his or her horse, and the typical resident rarely has
the need to spend much time travelling. Nor are they used to their
horses spending much time in floats.
And so the Club is producing a
regular newsletter to keep owners up to date, one assurance coming in
the form of international comparison. “To take a common English route,
the journey is roughly the distance from York to Newmarket,” said KL
Cheng, Head Of Dual Site Stable Operations And Owners’ Services.
Dedicated
travel grooms have been trained and each convoy of trucks will be
accompanied by a security car, a veterinarian and a mechanic. The
journey is monitored with live GPS tracking with CCTV vision (and
recording) of each horse and regular reporting to control centres at Sha
Tin and Conghua.
Minimum border checks
Several successful
horse-movement trials have already been undertaken. In total 18 will
have taken place, the trip taking just under five hours. There are only
minimum border checks with a customs clearing station built at Conghua.
Once everything is in full swing there will be return journeys twice a
week; up one day, back the next.
The floats are specially designed
with the comfort of both grooms and horses paramount. “Each horse will
have its own enclosed stall yet will be able to see, hear and smell the
horses next to it,” Dr Riggs said. “The horses have space to allow them
to lower their heads to the ground, which is important for their health.
And we want the horses relaxed for the longer distance travel.”
Relaxed
is also the word to describe how the visiting owner will feel with a
customized luxury coach on hand to ferry to Conghua those keen to see
their horses, while an impressively equipped owners’ lounge is serviced
by owners’ ambassadors.
Monthly barrier trials will be conducted
at Conghua, and owners with runners will be entitled to a free package,
consisting of transport, overnight accommodation and meals at a
five-star resort, with local sightseeing and golf expeditions arranged.
And
so it seems that there has not been a stone left unturned. It has
undoubtedly been an enormous project with contributions for a wide
variety of experts. Unfortunately there are ongoing issues with the
Australian Department Of Agriculture And Water Resources, which has so
far refused to grant approval, which led to no Australian representation
at the 2017 meeting. Australian horses can go, it is just hard for them
to return (a six-month New Zealand stopover required).
In the
meantime, the HKJC looks forward to the Conghua opening in August, after
which some HK$1.5 billion will be spent on renovating Sha Tin.
There is no resting on laurels in Hong Kong. “We strive for excellence in everything we do,” Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said.
------------- Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
Posted By: ThreeBears
Date Posted: 14 Jun 2018 at 1:59am
Horses will never come into contact with vehicles
Err say what? Will they spread their wings and fly to HK? Ahhh the truth is covered later in the article.
Engelbrecht-Bresges said, noting that Hong Kong is the ideal environment to produce stallion prospects.
By all means tell me the name of the great stallion HK racing has produced.
“If I were a horse, I know where I’d want to live!”
Ireland?
Posted By: marble
Date Posted: 14 Jun 2018 at 7:38am
Is there anything they haven’t thought of in Hong Kong racing’s brave new world?
i'd like to know the real facts of retired horses there. How many get put down and how many get re-homed? I know the jockey club sponsors owners of retired horses to re-home overseas and offers retraining of retired horses but does anyone know the real figures?