Karis creams them ! (photo: HKJC)
Karis Teetan and team mate Kei Chiong showed their competition a clean pair of heels in the annual Jockey Dash. It was Teetan’s second consecutive victory and his third to date.
The annual event, held as part of the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s pre-season Carnival, was held a week ahead of the Hong Kong racing season’s opening fixture on Sunday, 3 September and provided its usual welcoming, family-friendly environment.
The headline attractions at the annual carnival this year included grand performances from Yao Jue Music Academy and the Hong Kong String Orchestra, a toy upcycling workshop offered by YMCA of Hong Kong, unicycling performances by UAHK, and a display, exhibition and mini-game booth with freebies from TINY. Pre-season Carnival favourites, the Shetland Ponies, were on hand for grooming and many youngsters made the most of one of the day’s most popular activities – pony rides. In addition, the “Share Your Best Moment!” photo competition proved to be very popular among participants.
The day’s highlight was the annual jockey dash (photo: HKJC)
The day’s outright highlight was once again the annual Jockeys’ Sprint, with Hong Kong’s star riders pairing off for a 100m relay contest. Executive Director Andrew Harding took on the role of starter and got the race off to a clean break. Showing fleetness of foot and seamless teamwork, the winning team comprising Karis Teetan and Kei Chiong claimed the unofficial “first race” of the season. The Club’s Executive Director, Racing Business and Operations Mr. Anthony Kelly, presented a HK$5,000 cheque, the winning trophy and medals to Karis Teetan and Kei Chiong after the competition.
Umberto Rispoli and Kenny Lau finished in second place with Neil Callan and Dylan Mo, and Chad Schofield and Vincent Ho in joint-third, who were also presented with medals and cheques of HK$3,000 and HK$2,000, respectively.
Jockeys’ Sprint Roll of Honour
| Year | Champions | 2nd | 3rd |
| 2017 | Karis Teetan / Kei Chiong | Umberto Rispoli / Kenny Lau | Neil Callan / Dylan Mo and Chad Schofield/ Vincent Ho (joint-third) |
| 2016 | Karis Teetan / Jack Wong | Chad Schofield / Samuel Cheng | Neil Callan / Dylan Mo |
| 2015 | Nash Rawiller / Howard Cheng | Douglas Whyte / Richard Fourie | Alvin Ng / Vincent Ho |
| 2014 | Karis Teetan / Vincent Ho | Alex Lai / Jacky Tong | Alvin Ng / Olivier Doleuze |
| 2013 | Nicola Pinna | Karis Teetan | Andreas Suborics |
| 2012 | Richard Fourie | Jacky Tong | Olivier Doleuze |
| 2011 | Brett Prebble | Jacky Tong | Howard Cheng |
| 2010 | Olivier Doleuze | Jacky Tong | Derek Leung |
| 2009 | Jacky Tong | Olivier Doleuze | Derek Leung |
| 2008 | Jacky Tong | Olivier Doleuze | Howard Cheng |
| 2007 | Manoel Nunes | Eric Saint-Martin | Olivier Doleuze |
| 2006 | Olivier Doleuze | Manoel Nunes | Eric Saint-Martin |
More ‘Happy’ On Wednesdays
In addition, the HKJC’s Happy Wednesday brand unveiled their new theme: Let Us Entertain You, which is being launched with a little help from Robbie Williams. To be more precise, the singer’s classic recording of “Let Me Entertain You” which will be featured in all Happy Wednesday marketing and advertising. It provides the club with the opportunity to not just market the Happy Wednesday brand, but also HKIR week in December, its venues, special Cup days in Sha Tin and to show everything that makes horse racing in Hong Kong, well, entertaining.
Obtaining the rights to the song and original recording have been a labour of love for the HKJC as there are three music publishers involved which means obtaining three different approvals, and adding to the difficulty is the fact that Williams’ management has seldom granted permission for any of the artist’s recordings to be used for commercial use. Keep an eye out for the launch of the HKJC’s version of Let Me Entertain You which will be launched on Monday, 28 August 2017.
