The turnover at Sha Tin on Sunday, the opening meeting of the 2017/18 meeting, of HK1.294 billion was a new record for an opening day fixture, while a crowd of more than 66,000 turned out to enjoy the action.

Mr. Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are extremely happy with the start to the season, with record turnover for this day 6.5 percent higher than last season. This should be a good omen for the season, going forward.

“The economy is moving pretty well, so we are optimistic about the season ahead and the results today give us confidence. The commingling turnover was HK$104 million today, up from HK$57 million last year, which obviously shows that the commingling trend, as expected, continues to be strong.

“What is particularly satisfactory is that we have seen some good up-and-coming horses today, which is important. This will be a year of change, where we have, hopefully, a lot of young horses coming through. Today is encouraging because we saw some horses with very good potential.

“We hope for similar success at the opening of the Happy Wednesday season at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (6 September).”



Seasons Bloom wins the first Class 1 of the new Hong Kong season, the HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup, for jockey Joao Moreira and trainer Danny Shum, picture Hong Kong Jockey Club