Happy Valley
An introduction to horse racing in the heart of Hong Kong
A field of 12 stand for the first race. Joao Moreira is up on the favourite. The crowd in the lower section of the stand gravitates to the rail as the horses, patterned hindquarters shimmering under the lights, canter past to the start.
A moment of honed concentration as eyes turn to the stalls. Moreira from 9. Silence. Gates fly……
There are few places that crackle with energy like ‘the Valley’ on a Wednesday night. By the time gates open, or rather electronic turnstiles where you can enter for 10 HK Dollars (little over a pound) with a tap of your Octopus (subway) card, the turf has an almost luminescent gleam — a far cry from its swampy beginnings in the 1840s — Hong Kong is after all famed for its neon.
An eclectic bunch make up the crowd, punters mixing with businessmen, their ties loosened after work, tourists gathering around the beer stalls that line the rails. Happy Valley at night has the atmosphere of a strangely fantastic carnival. The track, oval, run tight right-handed, is incongruous next to the towering blocks of nearby Causeway Bay’s busy shopping district. So much so that those that attend a meeting could be given to wonder whether it will all be there next morning. Yet, in season, this is a weekly spectacle.
Hong Kong loves to bet. At just under a mile (1,600 metres), this is perhaps the most valuable strip of land in the world — in real estate terms that is. But this value pales in comparison to the betting turnover Wednesday night racing generates. Last year’s International Jockeys Championship card saw a whopping 1.35 billon HK Dollars, equivalent to nearly £100 million, in betting turnover alone. None of the festivals at home can compare, not Royal Ascot, Cheltenham or Aintree, and this all in a single evening.
The week builds to a Wednesday. Racing tissues have been unfurled and re-furled, poured over by the Hong Kong faithful searching for the winning ticket. There are varying degrees of rational. The Chinese have a fascination with numbers, which, when coupled with racing would seem at best imprudent and at worst rash in the extreme. 8 is typically thought to be lucky, with 6 and 9 considered a good combination — expect a tierce (tri-cast). Conversely 4, its pronunciation ‘sey’ sounding like the word for death in Cantonese, is thought unlucky.
Superstitions of all forms abound. Best not to shake hands with anyone at the racecourse. On meeting a familiar face, perhaps a demure inclination of the head will suffice, least you tarnish your luck or worse still the other persons. Oh, and if chance would have it you come across a monk on your way to the course, tread no further — no luck will come your way this evening — better find an alternative route to the track next week.
Does the favourite never win from stall 4? Will berth 8 guarantee its occupant a golden highway, sufficient to run down horse 4 as it fatefully ties up in the last half furlong? Is the 8 horse sure to give its running? It would appear some people abide by the adage, with number 8 consistently over bet on the HK tote.
If nothing stands out in the paddock, many HK punters have a near unshakable faith in Joao Moreira – the rider they nickname ‘Magic Man.’ At this stage of the season he has already chalked up well over 50 winners, with a strike rate of over 20%. Of course, it helps to be backed by the masterful John Size, who has been HK champion trainer 10 times since 2002. Again the ‘Moreira factor’ must be included in any price, and all the more so if partnering one of Size’s.
That evening his mount was available at around 3/1 before the off, perhaps a little skinny posted wide in stall 9 (though wasn’t that one of the lucky ones?). Statistics though point to a low draw, stalls 1–6 being advantageous in 6 furlong events at Happy Valley. From 9 then, “Treasure and Gold” broke smartly but couldn’t make the rail, conceding position to five runners. Short of cover down the back, the ‘Magic Man’ tried to apply his wand early, hustling his mount forward before the bend. On the turn he lowered into the drive, forced four wide around runners into the straight. Although under heavy pressure he still had a chance from the top of the home run…..
Predictably though “Treasure and Gold’s” run flattened out, Moreira allowing him to coast home the last 100 yards. It’s remarkably difficult to pick up front runners if forced wide around the home turn at Happy Valley. A late surge claimed “Invisible” the race — his name bearing testament to how he appeared on my racecard. Number 3 flapped defiantly below the saddle as jockey Olivier Doleuze rode back to the winner’s enclosure, right arm extended high fiving the fans leaning on the rail. The places were no better, 3–2–5 the tierce, coming from gates 5, 12 and 1 respectively.
Eight races on the card offered ‘Chinese Lady Luck’ little hope of redemption. Striking only once in race 4 with the 9 horse. This might, however, have been tempered by victory of “Chater Legend” sporting the presumed deadly number 4 in the last. Truth be told I didn’t know. Then came the further realisation that I really didn’t know much about the technicalities of racing around this idiosyncratic track in this small, vibrant corner of the world.
So other than a healthy disregard for local luck what had I learnt? Of the four 6 furlong races on the card that evening, the places were filled 9 times out of 12 by horses drawn in stall 6 or below. Against the trend, those that had finished to effect from wide draws benefited from a strong pace, closing from the rear to run down horses who had done too much on the front end. In contrast, those horses who got an easy lead proved difficult to reel in. Nothing new there, though the tight, narrow nature of the track possibly exaggerated this effect. If the field swung too wide off the home turn, horses posted on the inner behind the leaders had the advantage of being able to sneak up the inside rail. However, a slowly run race saw several strong travelling runners caught in pockets, which never developed into gaps enough to squeeze through. Having a handle on the potential pace and running of the race would seem all the more crucial at ‘the Valley.’
Superstitions aside the HK racing crowd is largely a well-informed one. And it should be. Information on offer is second to none, with the Hong Kong Jockey Club and indeed government perpetually concerned with making racing as transparent and fair as possible. All information is freely available. Race replays can be viewed minutes after the event on the HKJC’s website, as can videos of every horses’ daily trackwork. Other crucial details include race sectional times, speed figures and even a horses’ weight change from its previous runs. There are few territories in the world where you can be so assured of a horses’ fitness, its ability and potential to give its running. Information of this sort allows anyone willing to delve into the stats about as complete a picture of a racecourse and the horses that run there as it’s possible to have.
For all its surreal lights and glamour then, it would be foolish to underestimate racing at Happy Valley. This is a place of serious racing, serious punting, with all the information freely available to those who wish to look for it. Best to leave Chinese Lady Luck at home, next time I will definitely be taking a different approach to the course.
On Wednesday December 8 the International Jockeys’ Challenge (IJC) takes place at Happy Valley, with stars of the saddle competing to be crowned top international rider. Find out more here: https://campaigns.hkjc.com/hkir/en/
