Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges | Horse Racing Free Tips

Record-Breaking Season Concludes in Hong Kong

The 2020/2021 racing season in Hong Kong concluded July 14, with the Hong Kong Jockey Club reporting turnover in excess of HK$130 billion (£12.1b/€14.2b/US$16.7b) for the first time.

A total of 88 meetings–one more than last season–were conducted between September and July, with no programs lost to the coronavirus. The HKJC staged 835 races at Sha Tin and Happy Valley Racecourses, and took 206 races from overseas for simulcasting purposes. Total turnover was HK$136 billion, representing a 12.1% increase over last season. The HKJC is the single largest taxpayer in Hong Kong, and the betting duty in 2020/2021 was HK$13.7 billion, a bump of 13.6% year over year. Handle on local races reached HK$129.3 billion, an improvement of 11% on last year, while betting on overseas races totaled HK$7 billion, a healthy hike of 37.7%.

“Given the circumstances confronting the Club, our overall season racing turnover of more than HK$136 billion is outstanding,” said HKJC Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges. “The growth in turnover is testament to the quality of our product and the support of our customers. To achieve these types of figures underpins the importance of horse racing to Hong Kong and its people. We are also delighted with how popular our simulcasts are with Hong Kong customers and we are pleased that we will offer more next season.

He added, “We are delighted to have been able to again complete a full season with a clear focus of ensuring racing to continue while upholding the principle of protecting the public health and safety of our employees, stakeholders and the public. The remarkable season turnover has enabled us to contribute more for the betterment of our society.”

Racing resumes in Hong Kong in early September.

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Agreement To Allow HKJC To Host Racing at Conghua

An agreement executed Friday by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) with the Guangzhou Municipal Government is set to strengthen the Club's foothold on the Chinese Mainland, with the prospect of staging “international-standard' racing at Conghua Racecourse (CRC), heretofore known as the Conghua Training Centre (CTC).

Located about 200 kilometres and approximately a three-hour car trip (four hours by horse float) from Hong Kong, Conghua was opened to great fanfare in 2018. Built on 150 hectares on a site that hosted the equestrian events at the 2010 Asian Games, the state-of-the-art facility presented an opportunity to ship horses away from the rugged, concrete environment of Sha Tin Racecourse into a more serene and remote location, with stabling for over 600 horses, training tracks and accommodations for staff. Horses routinely return from a spell at Conghua refreshed and revived.

The HKJC successfully staged five exhibition races (non pari-mutuel) at Conghua in March 2019, the first time Hong Kong horses had raced competitively on the Mainland. The HKJC reported that some 1,700 Mainland residents were on hand. A similar event was scheduled to take place in 2020, but those plans were scuppered by the coronavirus outbreak.

The agreement signed Friday allow for the HKJC to conduct racing at CTC “under the Club's racing rules and regulations based on international best practices.” A regular racing programme could commence as soon as 2025.

The Club also announced plans to upgrade the infrastructure at CTC, including the construction of a “new and iconic grandstand” in addition to extra stabling, training facilities and expanded staff accommodations. The municipal government has agreed to build an additional access road to the facility.

A third key component of the agreement is the development of an “equine value chain,” including an international equine quarantine facility and other equine-related initiatives, such as veterinary professional development and the exploration of a Thoroughbred trading centre and the promotion of equestrian sports in Guangzhou.

“Building on our respective strengths, this Agreement will substantially deepen the Club's strategic cooperative partnership with the Guangzhou Municipal Government with the aim of achieving our shared vision of the Guangzhou-Hong Kong Racing Economic Cluster,” said HKJC CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges. “Since its opening in 2018, CRC has become an integral part of Hong Kong's world-class racing. We will fully leverage CRC's world-class facilities and talent within the Club to implement this exciting, but challenging initiative.”

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Golden Sixty Stretches Win Streak To 14 In Champions Mile As Sha Tin Reopens To Limited Attendance

Golden Sixty needed all the urgings from his rider, Vincent Ho, and the 5,719 in attendance at Hong Kong's Sha Tin racecourse to secure Sunday's Group 1 FWD Champions Mile.

Recording his 14th consecutive win and fourth Group 1 in total, the world's joint top-rated miler powered into the lead rounding the home turn but was made to sweat for his win by a fast-finishing More Than This, ridden by Joao Moreira.

“He has never been chased and we learnt today that he still can fight when something chases him, not just when he is doing the chasing, which is good,” Ho said of Golden Sixty.

“That was amazing (to have a crowd), a big thanks to all the fans today who came out, it makes such a difference, the atmosphere and everything is so much different.

“It's been a good season, seven races for Golden Sixty and I'm happy for him to win this, hopefully he will have a break now until next season, he had a couple of tough runs these past two,” the rider said.

Japan secured a sixth win in the FWD QEII Cup with Loves Only You, also ridden by Ho, leading home a Japanese 1-2-3-4. Triple Crown-winning filly Daring Tact was second.

“I can't describe it,” Ho said, reacting to a pair of G1 successes in the space of 40 minutes.

“I don't dare to look back until the finish line but she was amazing. I'm grateful that the Japanese connections asked me to ride her.

“The QEII Cup is one of my dream goals as well as the Derby and the December internationals, a QEII win means a lot.

“It's amazing today with Golden Sixty and Loves Only You. It's definitely one of the highlights, I'll enjoy it for sure.”

The connections of Loves Only You celebrate the filly's QEII win

Wellington, trained by Richard Gibson and ridden by Alexis Badel, showed an impressive turn of foot to notch his first Group 1 in the Chairman's Sprint Prize earlier on the card.

“It's fantastic to see the fans back today and I'm just delighted for the owners. They were one of the first owners in my stable when I came here. They've been very loyal and supportive and it's a great satisfaction to source and deliver such a great horse”, said Gibson.

With crowds returning in safe numbers, three fantastic Group 1 races and betting turnover hitting a record HK$1.611 billion (approx. US$207 million) for the Champions Day meeting, Hong Kong Jockey Club Club CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said: “It's great to have people coming back to the racecourse for a meeting of this quality. Golden Sixty kept his unbeaten record and, if you look at the performances of Loves Only You and Wellington, it was an amazing day.”

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HKJC to Offer World Pool Betting For DWC Meeting

World Pool betting will be available for the Dubai World Cup meeting on Mar. 27, the Hong Kong Jockey Club announced on Tuesday. The 2019 Royal Ascot meeting was the first time World Pool betting was available from the HKJC and resulted in a 60% increase in turnover. During the Mar. 6 Super Saturday card in Dubai, local turnover increased 28.5% and commingled turnover rose 38.7% with World Pool wagering available.

Mr. Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Chief Executive Officer, said, “The commingling development in Hong Kong has been an astonishing success.

“In 2019, we created a new dimension to commingling with the first global pool at Royal Ascot which enabled people around the world to make use of huge liquidity and led to a 60% increase in turnover.

“We are applying the same concept to Dubai. As a truly global racing event, Dubai's World Cup meeting attract world class horses, jockeys and trainers. Commingling provides our sport with a golden opportunity to harvest the full potential of global racing.”

Mr. Richard Cheung, the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Executive Director, Customer and International Business Development, added, “We would like to thank PGI as well as our network of global commingling partners to make this happen. Sustaining the momentum of international cooperation as the commingling industry have been is key especially during the challenging time of COVID.”

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