Chief Stipe

What do HK buyers look for? www.racing.com It’s the time of year where Hong Kong owners are searching for their next superstar. Earlier this month, the Hong Kong Jockey Club released the list of successful permit holders for their owners ahead of the upcoming season, which determines what owners are able to import a new galloper into Hong Kong and whether that horse has raced previously or not. This week’s Royal Ascot meeting has been a popular shop for Hong Kong owners looking to purchase top European bloodstock, but the majority of horses in the lucrative jurisdiction are from the southern hemisphere, as a planeload of horses from Australia and New Zealand fly into the racing mad city on a regular basis. So, for bloodstock agents and trainers alike, what are they looking for when importing promising tried thoroughbreds from Australia that they think will make the grade at Sha Tin and Happy Valley? George Moore, the son of former top Hong Kong trainer John Moore, recently purchased this year’s Group 3 Black Opal Stakes winner Holmes A Court. An expensive yearling, Holmes A Court had four starts for Peter and Paul Snowden and contested the G1 Golden Slipper at his final Australian start, before moving on to join Tony Cruz’s stable. “He’s a very good-looking horse,” Moore said. “I thought that he’s probably one of the better horses that I have imported into Hong Kong, or anyone has imported into Hong Kong in the last couple of months, so we’re quite excited to see what he can do.” WATCH: Holmes A Court’s biggest win to date Holmes A Court (Capitalist x Menagerie) wins the Group 3 Black Opal Stakes in Canberra on Sunday March 10th 2024.🐎🏆🥇 Trainer: @SnowdenRacing1 Jockey: @TommyBerry21 Video: Sky Racing Congratulations to all connections!!@NewgateFarm @Chinahorseclub @gobloodstockaus pic.twitter.com/AUPUCyUsSl — Trilogy Racing (@TrilogyRacing1) March 12, 2024 While Moore’s owners determine the kinds of tried horses that he buys from Australia, there are a few key rules that he follows when it comes to the physical nature and form of a horse. “The general rules for Hong Kong are 480kg or above, horse 15.3 (hands) minimum (height), progressive form with no more than nine starts,” he said. “Ideally, I’d probably want something with three to four starts and progressive form.” Moore, who was behind the purchases of subsequent superstars Rapper Dragon and Beauty Generation, noted that size does matter when it comes to sourcing bloodstock for Hong Kong, as he said that more lightly framed horses don’t tend to acclimatise to the unique environment as well. “A lot of my clients will ask me about weights,” he said. “Probably the second question most clients in Hong Kong will ask, ‘what’s the weight of the horse?’” When it comes to helping horses become accustomed to the conditions of life as a racehorse in Hong Kong and living in double-storey stable buildings in the bustling city, that’s the job of the trainer. Thirteen-time champion jockey turned trainer Douglas Whyte has Robbie Laing’s former galloper Hey Fat Cat coming to join his stable imminently. Under Laing’s care, the son of Rubick won at Sale and Sandown, and wasn’t far behind elite gallopers Mr Brightside, Southport Tycoon and Veight when he did race at the highest level. “He looks a nice individual, he’s only a three-year-old going on four now but he looks like he’s been running and handling himself well in real group one races,” Whyte said. “He’s probably just a length or two behind them at the moment and it looks like if he does step up, he could be a proper individual for the Four-Year-Old Series next year.” Whyte has already enjoyed success as a trainer with horses bought from the land Down Under. His first group one winner as a trainer was in the 2022 Centenary Sprint Cup with Stronger, who had won three races for the Snowden’s before making the move to Hong Kong. In Hey Fat Cat, Whyte believes that he has a horse that “ticks all the boxes” for Hong Kong racing. “He’s got a lovely action, he’s got speed, gate speed, he’s finishing a couple of lengths behind the top end there and he looks like he handles fast ground,” Whyte said. “He’s got a lot going for him. As I said, he’s got to lift his game slightly. When horses do come to Hong Kong, there’s a bit of a shell shock in what’s expected of them in the pressurized jurisdiction that it is, but he looks like a big enough, well-tempered enough horse that I’m hoping he can handle all of that.” WATCH: Hey Fat Cat’s win at Sandown Whyte described the task of getting a new horse to acclimatise to Hong Kong as being one requiring time and patience, but one that’s also rewarding too. “It’s a pleasure watching them develop and it’s a pleasure being part of that slow development and watching things unfold,” he said. “I think what I’ve come to enjoy most about it is the preparation. You can get on a horse and aim towards a race and when you get there, you really appreciate the time, effort and the journey along the way that’s afforded you to get to that particular race.”

They are saving money @Brodie because they know you are near a machine wanting to bet. They're just not sure which bar you're in so they've disconnected all of them.

I guess you thought you had been spotted in your long coat and glasses.

All over it would appear. A mate sent this to me from Wellington.

So if I want to see all the information available without going to full form e.g. apprentice claims I have to use the website on my phone. Which is trading off speed and probably a few other things like auto logging out.

Well done. I watched an episode of the Australian Zoo last night when I got pissed off with the League. They had a 24 yr old Zebra who had been at the Zoo for a long time. His teeth were starting to deteriorate badly and he had started to spit hay out because it was painful to chew. The decision was made to euthanase him while he still had a decent quality of life. Sad but practical. If he had been on the African Savannah a pack of Lions would have picked him off. What worries me about Crematorium's and bowing to the theoretical social license protocol is it will only centralise the focus on part of the industry that is no different to other livestock industries. It won't appease the anti-racing minority but give then another stage to prattle on. It won't surprise me if NZTR starts buying carbon credits to offset the carbon emissions!!

The website seems slower.

Thanks @Debs I'll check if I use my browser on my phone rather than the app if it is there. Yep if you go to the website rather than the app it is there as are the apprentice claims. Begs the question what's the advantage of the app?

Look above where?

Isn't it all part of the "social license" sanitisation process? You can't promote supposedly humane crematoriums on the one hand and publish how a horse got there.

Same for Auckland Cup Day Ellerslie March 9th.

What's the bet no Stewards Vision is loaded for that race!

TAKESHI (M McNab) - Clipped a heel and badly blundered passing the 300 metres dislodging its rider before shifting outwards abruptly making firm contact with DON’T LOOK ETHEL with Apprentice J Nishizuka being dislodged. Also severely hampered as a result was HIT THE SWITCH. Rider M McNab was attended to by the oncourse Doctor and stood down from his remaining ride being transported to hospital for further observation. M McNab was advised that he would be required to provide a medical clearance to Stewards prior to riding next. Underwent a post-race veterinary examination which did not reveal any abnormality. DON’T LOOK ETHEL (J Nishizuka) - Severely hampered passing the 300 metres dislodging its rider. Apprentice J Nishizuka was attended to by the oncourse Doctor and cleared of any injury. Underwent a post-race veterinary examination which did not reveal any abnormality. N Hailey (SILVER JAVELIN) - Admitted a charge of careless riding in that he permitted his mount to shift inwards when not sufficiently clear of TAKESHI which clipped a heel and blundered dislodging its rider severely hampering DON’T LOOK ETHEL which also dislodged its rider near the 300 metres. Also hampered as a result was HIT THE SWITCH. After considering submissions the Adjudicative Committee imposed a suspension of N Hailey’s licence to ride in races from the conclusion of racing on Sunday 23 June up to and including racing on Wednesday 24 July, 1 month.

That's a policy decision not a practical decision.

There you go again @Michael you can't help yourself. Can you redirect your obvious anger to discussing the topic?

Why?

Yep centralise reality and provide a photo op for the anti-racing brigade.

But obviously you do as you are fixated on it and you are the sort of person that belittles others as is clearly evident in the majority of your posts.

So @Michael you agree or disagree that there are inconsistencies in the penalties given for infringing the whip use rules? Now don't say - your don't care or you haven't done the research and you can't be bothered. This Topic, which for whatever reason you have chosen to respond to, is about penalty inconsistencies. Now ONE of the examples given may have a valid reason for appearing inconsistent but in my opinion there are examples of inconsistency. Now if you don't care to comment then we can only assume that you take some enjoyment out of driving by and firing a shot at @Brodie.

So therefore if you haven't done the research then you can't comment on whether there are inconsistencies or not. In keeping with your bro'mance with @Brodie you ignore the fact that it was @Nowornever who started the Topic.

But there is and I provided an example which you choose to ignore. For example why do some Professional drivers get fined, some get suspensions, some get the same number of days for widely different number of drives and so on?

A non-Amateur License holder could also be an un-Licensed person which mean they weren't a Professional.

LOL. Says rebranded Michael.