Features

Fortune and glory

1 Nov 2005 by business traveller

If you think air fares are expensive, imagine what it costs to fly a racehorse around the world. It takes special containers and a pressurised hold – not to mention plenty of oats – but, then, if owning, training and racing horses was cheap, it wouldn't have been dubbed "the sport of kings". Perhaps Cathay Pacific sponsors the Hong Kong International Races because it has worked out it will more than recoup its costs simply by helping to fly the horses. Other airlines must also benefit, as horses here have come from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, the UK, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Macau, New Zealand, Singapore and the UAE.

There are just as many motives for these kings to get involved. The sort of multi-millionaires who own racehorses are tempted by fame, prestige – and, yes, the prospect of even more money in the form of prizes. As such, the Hong Kong International Races scores highly on all counts. Last year's races saw total prize money of HK$56 million (£4.1 million), and as the final race of the World Racing Championships of 13 international races, had four cup events out of a total of nine races on the day: the HK$14 million (£1 million) Hong Kong Mile, the world's richest 1,600m race; the HK$14 million Hong Kong Vase; the Hong Kong Sprint, the world's richest 1,000m race; and the HK$18 million (£1.3 million) Hong Kong Cup.

Money is also part of the appeal to the spectators, of course. Partly because they are hoping to win some, but also because there's something fascinating about watching the rich at play. Whether one agrees with Scott Fitzgerald ("The rich are different"), or Hemingway ("Yes, they have more money'), in World Series racing, like F1, the sheer costs involved make it fascinating.

Hong Kong has a long history of horse racing, which accounts for the fame and prestige of owning racehorses. Happy Valley is Hong Kong's best known and oldest race course, and an essential stop for anyone visiting Hong Kong. But it's the Sha Tin race course in the southern New Territories where the largest races take place. It's a fabulous venue, surrounded by vertiginous apartment blocks and high mountains, which are home to several Country Parks. In the centre of the track is Penfold Park bird sanctuary surrounded by manicured grass, pink blossom on the trees, and pink and red flowers as a final dash of colour.

Both race courses are run by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (formally the Royal), an organisation that has complete control not only of horse racing in Hong Kong, but of betting as a whole – at least until the law changes. It is a non-profit, charitable donor on a huge scale, with surplus earnings from the racing season adding up to over HK$1billion each year for the past decade.

Although the races take only one day, the spectacle begins on the Saturday with the Hong Kong International Sale. Taking place in the Parade Ring with its new HK$400 million (£29.5 million) retractable roof, it's a mesmerising spectacle: a thoroughbred horse auction where young horses purchased from top yearling sales around the world are sold as two- or three-year-olds. It's also a place to see and be seen, with highly competitive bids and the sense that these rich individuals want people to know who they are and what they are worth. But then, Hong Kong is not exactly an understated place, as we realise when we watch the race course start to fill up.

Clutching race cards and copies of the South China Morning Post's special supplement, it's impossible to resist the excitement, even if your knowledge of racing is limited to a few famous names (and yes, they were there, including Frankie Dettori). Still, as the first race approaches, I do my best to find out which horse to bet on. Luckily I am with people who know what they are talking about.

This is the world's richest 2,000m race and the final event of the World Series Racing Championship. Unlike many races, it seems there are several horses who are fancied to win, and I quickly realise that the more information I have, the more difficult it is. There is certainly a surfeit of facts, not least in the notes that accompany the horses. For example, the notes on "Rakti" tell me that Sha Tin is familiar territory to this horse because he came second in the 2003 race, won the Prince Of Wales's Stakes (a Group 1 race, also 2,000m) at Royal Ascot and is also effective over one mile having won another Group 1 race: the QEII Stakes (Gr.1). I can also find out the going on each of those occasions, who else Rakti ran with, beat or was beaten into second by, how he got to Hong Kong, when he arrived, who owns him, how much he's won and a hundred other facts, which, when multiplied by all the other horses in the race means I get completely confused.

I place bets on several horses, feeling pleased that with Hong Kong dollars it seems I'm betting 10 times more than I actually am, then I go outside to watch the race and see all my horses come in several lengths behind the winner (I've gone for long odds – what's the point of risking cash if not for a really large reward?). The winner is Alexander Goldrun, which became the first filly to triumph in the race's history. Rakti came seventh.

This sets the tone for my betting, and despite multiple bets, single bets and bets so complicated I get other people to put them on for me, I win nothing. I do, however, enjoy the races, and losing small amounts – even a lot of them – seems no great hardship. I comfort myself with the thought of all the charitable donations I am making.

Cathay Pacific flies three times daily to Hong Kong from London Heathrow. Typical fares are £6,417 in first class, £4,616 in business class and £524 in economy class. For more information visit cathaypacific.com.

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