By Hans Ebert @HansEbertMusic Visit: www.hans-ebert.com
It might be another Wednesday, but there’s nothing Happy about it as tonight’s racing is another of those either weird or excruciatingly boring all-dirt meeting at Sha Tin. And with the constant rain we’ve been enduring, not even Mandrake The Magician would be able to forecast which way the Weathermen might decide how the winds will blow and which horses might take to the wet track surface.
Will it suit leaders? Most likely and it could be a very good day for Hong Kong’s newest apprentice- ten-pound claiming Alfie Chan who’s off and running with his career back home after a few years learning his trade in Adelaide.
With six rides on the night and at least two with winning chances, “What’s it all about” Alfie might be a hard man to catch out in front as he scoots off and plays Follow The Leader.
Frankly, we might have the television on Mute as some of us tend to shy away from being sold on “overnight odds”, tips and other obstacles put up to trip up of mice and men.
This meeting is more of a break from racing for us though hugely popular with the rank and file local punter and some of the big professional players who target a couple of races and close up shop for the night or their day. Only a fool bets on every race and hopes to be on the winning side of the ledger.
While pottering around the apartment, we’ll think about the now very LOUD whisper that Chris Waller will be making his home in Hong Kong towards mid 2020 and what the future might hold for Hughie Bowman and James McDonald.
Though Hong Kong might be out for the Big Mac, one wonders how long he will stay with Godolphin in Australia. Again, there are many who say that James McDonald soon riding in the UK is a given. Care about any of this? Thought so.
What’s any of this got to do with Hong Kong racing? Nada. With the overseas plans for Beauty Generation finally put to rest and where we really could not see the Kwok family risking their golden goose in races like the Yasuda Kinen just to prove something to those with zero financial interests in the horse. Their horse.
Big money shakers like the Kwoks, the Sius etc love having more big money to shake. It’s part of Hong Kong in every industry. It’s in the DNA of those who can afford to buy and do as they please.
So, billionaire Patrick Kwok, below, and his trillionaire family will keep running Beauty Generation in Hong Kong and regularly pick up million dollar cheques by continuing to beat the already beaten brigade.
The thinking might be if Winx could have done it, why mess around with a proven winning formula? Continue playing the circle game until it all becomes more than a tad predictable with racing writers running out of puns, punch lines and more Beauty Is A Beast doodles?
Not a fan of the horse? Who isn’t? A fan of the owners? Not really. Plus too much talk about one galloper, no matter how great, is like putting one’s eggs in one basket. They crack.
Though two very different horses, remember all that premature talk about the “viral sensation” Pakistan Star? That was just misguided hype. Where’s Pakistan Star today? Still racing, but no matter what anyone says, his best days are behind him.
Far better to follow the exploits of new young gallopers like Arathea and Voyage Warrior and how exactly the John Moore stable will be a “house divided” when the Maestro faces compulsory retirement and, at 70, has to finally hang up his safari jackets.
Don’t think someone as savvy and connected as John Moore isn’t turning up the heat right now training doubles, trebles and with a stable locked and loaded with talent and a contingency plan in mind. The Fat Lady is far from ready to sing and rules just might mean having to be rewritten.
John Moore won’t leave quietly and one can already see certain segments of the racing media in his corner and carefully asking the HKJC the hard questions with a velvet glove.
The answers just might be in Chris Waller, and, lest one forgets, Douglas Whyte, trainer. What role will he play? Certainly not second fiddle. Who will be part of his team? Which horses does he already have in his books? Will he have a stable jockey?
It promises to be a fascinating Game Of Thrones without the sex and mayhem. But then again, who knows? Just sit back and watch the plot thicken.
コメント