Hong Kong racing chief lauds success of international meeting

By Brians Newsflash

The score was 2-2 at the finish and there wasn't a penalty shoot-out in sight after a turf world championships at Sha Tin yesterday that convinced Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races are still the biggest game in town, reports the HK Racing Post. It adds: "As a football fan myself, I enjoyed the final of the East Asian Games football on Saturday night, but our action on the track today, our atmosphere here at the course h

It adds: "As a football fan myself, I enjoyed the final of the East Asian Games football on Saturday night, but our action on the track today, our atmosphere here at the course had everything that event did and more - we are still the biggest game in town," he said in toasting a day billed as the greatest show on turf by the club and which lived up to its billing.

"We had more than 56,000 people here on the track, up 10,000 from last year, and the feeling was proud and vibrant. Our betting turnover was up by HK$20 million - on all scores, the whole week has been a great success," Engelbrecht-Bresges said.

For the fifth year in a row, Hong Kong took two of the four international events, and in a shut-out each time, with Good Ba Ba making history as the first horse to win any international event three times in the Mile.

The Hong Kong Sprint also stayed at home yet again as Sacred Kingdom won for a second time, which should confirm his place at the top of the world's turf sprinters.

Good Ba Ba was not favourite for the Mile this year, with up-and-coming Happy Zero the public elect in betting, but the cheer that accompanied locally trained Fellowship and then Happy Zero as they joined the fray at the 200 metres was simply flattened by the deafening roar as Good Ba Ba descended on both in the last 100m to win and there was no doubt about the most popular winner. The win took the pressure off trainer Derek Cruz, who had taken over as the champion miler's trainer only recently from Andreas Schutz, who trained the gelding in his first two Mile wins and was one of the first to congratulate Cruz.

"I only would have been disappointed if Good Ba Ba didn't win, for the horse's sake," said Schutz. "At least I am part of history."

In each Hong Kong victory, the locally trained runners grabbed the first four finishing spots, but they had to bow to the French in the longer events. (www.racing.scmp.com)