
Record tourist numbers flock to Champions Day, but star filly's death mutes celebrations
A record number of tourists flocked to Sha Tin for FWD Champions Day on Sunday, with Jockey Club chief Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges hailing the event a success despite the death of superstar Japanese filly Liberty Island.
Crowd numbers were up 37.5 per cent year on year, the club said. Fans, meanwhile, wagered north of HK$1.5 billion, which was 3.34 per cent down on 12 months ago, a dip the CEO attributed somewhat to the absence of local star Romantic Warrior.
And while the club celebrated following such a big event, they were muted after Liberty Island broke down in the Group One QE II Cup (2,000m).
The five-year-old suffered a leg injury in the feature and had to be euthanised.
'We normally celebrate with champagne but I feel today in honour of the tremendous filly that this is not the right thing to do. I'm really sad about that but unfortunately this is part of racing,' Engelbrecht-Bresges said. 'I want to really honour a filly like Liberty Island, who was one of the great race fillies.'
Among a bustling crowd of 41,943 at Sha Tin were nearly 10,000 tourists, with the club's collaboration with the China Travel Service and a pilot of a soon-to-be-launched tour initiative for high-end visitors contributing to the numbers.
There was also a 12-strong group from Australia travelling with Ontrack Racing Tours, with the Jockey Club estimating each person would inject HK$70,000 into the Hong Kong economy.
'We had a record for Champions Day of 8,244 mainland visitors and we had nearly 1,100 overseas visitors coming,' Engelbrecht-Bresges said, adding there had been a 'targeted test where we had 200 high-net-worth people from Japan'.
Engelbrecht-Bresges said while the tests were 'not the full monty', the club hoped to roll the initiative out in collaboration with the Hong Kong Tourism Board in the next few weeks.
'Then we have the collaboration with the China Travel Group, who were responsible for a lot of people here today, and that will go even further,' the CEO said.
Engelbrecht-Bresges was full of praise for the HKJC team's 'terrific effort to put a marvellous event on' even without Romantic Warrior running in the QE II Cup, which he said was a difference of around HK$40 million in betting terms.
'I think today's race meeting had a tremendous atmosphere and we saw tremendous performances on the track,' Engelbrecht-Bresges said.
'The feedback we got from everybody was that this was a really successful meeting. We dialled up the entertainment and it was a tremendous atmosphere.'
HE DOES IT AGAIN! 🚀
Ka Ying Rising makes it 12 straight wins, four Group 1s and a HK$5 million Speed Series bonus with victory in the 2025 Chairman's Sprint Prize... @zpurton #FWDChampionsDay | #HKracing pic.twitter.com/IvPSPH9pcn — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) April 27, 2025
On the track, Ka Ying Rising was the star attraction with his victory in the Group One Chairman's Sprint Prize (1,200m), while rank outsider Red Lion also did the locals proud in the Group One Champions Mile and Tastiera flew the flag for Japan by taking out the Group One QE II Cup (2,000m).
'Today there was one performance which was completely dominant and we are very glad we have, I would humbly say, by far the best sprinter in the world. He showed how good he is and that created a tremendous atmosphere,' Engelbrecht-Bresges said of Ka Ying Rising.
'We feel that Hong Kong racing is going, despite significant geopolitical and economic issues, from strength to strength.
'We look forward to even more horses coming to Hong Kong to make this day even bigger than it is currently, even if I would say it is the biggest [Champions Day] that we have had for a long period of time and we see it as a success.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


AllAfrica
13 hours ago
- AllAfrica
Fewer cradles, more canes: East Asia's demographic reckoning
East Asia faces an unprecedented demographic transformation that will reshape the region's economic and social foundations within decades. From Seoul to Singapore, fertility rates have collapsed below replacement levels, creating aging societies with shrinking workforces and mounting care demands. While this crisis spans multiple countries, Japan provides the clearest window into both the challenges ahead and potential solutions, having reached the most advanced stage of demographic decline. The regional scope is staggering. South Korea's fertility rate has plummeted to 0.72, the world's lowest, while China's has fallen to 1.09 despite abandoning its one-child policy. Taiwan sits at 0.87, and Singapore at 0.97. These aren't temporary fluctuations but sustained collapses driven by shared pressures: intense educational competition, high living costs, demanding work cultures and persistent gender inequalities that burden women with disproportionate caregiving responsibilities. Japan, as the demographic frontrunner, illustrates where this trajectory leads. In 2024, births fell to 686,061—the first time below 700,000 since 1899—while deaths approached 1.6 million, shrinking the population by 900,000 people. The fertility rate dropped to 1.15, and in Tokyo, it's below 1.0. With seniors comprising 30% of the population and working-age adults only 59%, Japan faces smaller tax bases, strained pensions and regions struggling with aging and decline. The Japanese experience reveals why conventional policy responses fail across the region. Despite extensive family-friendly policies, including child allowances and parental leave, births continue falling because three fundamental barriers persist throughout East Asia. High-intensity work cultures directly conflict with family formation, especially for women caught between career demands and caregiving expectations. Marriage-centric approaches to parenthood reduce births when marriage itself becomes delayed or avoided. Rising costs of housing, education and child-rearing push desired family sizes below replacement levels, particularly in expensive metropolitan areas. These create self-reinforcing cycles visible across the region: fewer young adults produce fewer births, accelerating aging and fiscal pressure, which tightens labor markets and makes family formation even harder. China's shrinking workforce, South Korea's pension crisis and Singapore's foreign worker dependence all reflect variations of this dynamic. Japan's evolution toward immigration as a partial solution foreshadows regional trends. Foreign residents reached 3.6 million in early 2025, reflecting policy shifts that other East Asian countries are beginning to emulate. However, immigration alone cannot reverse age structures quickly enough, and political sensitivities remain high across the region. The crucial challenge is integrating immigrants effectively to stabilize productivity and social cohesion. Rather than chasing birth rate recovery, East Asian societies need comprehensive strategies for thriving with smaller, older populations. Japan's emerging approach offers a regional template across several dimensions. Work redesign represents the first priority. Default flexibility with strict overtime limits and predictable scheduling challenges the region's notorious work cultures. Corporate incentives should be tied to concrete caregiving and flexibility improvements, not just policy promises. This applies equally to South Korea's demanding corporate culture and China's '996' work expectations. Making parenthood low-friction requires treating early childhood care as critical infrastructure. Universal, high-quality childcare within reasonable distances, backed by guaranteed spots, addresses cost and availability barriers across the region. Portable benefits independent of employment or marital status support contemporary life patterns from Seoul to Shanghai. Normalizing diverse family pathways means decoupling benefits from marriage and supporting single parents and cohabiting partners. Tax and pension systems should encourage rather than penalize dual-earner households, challenging traditional gender roles that persist across East Asian societies. Building 'silver productivity' economies through age-tech, robotics and AI-enabled care platforms offers opportunities to turn demographic challenges into competitive advantages. Regional cooperation in developing these technologies could create exportable expertise in serving aging populations globally. Immigration strategies must shift toward long-term settlement with language training, credential recognition, and anti-discrimination enforcement. Singapore's managed approach and Japan's recent visa expansions suggest models that China and South Korea might adapt. The political economy of this transition varies across the region but shares common elements. Success requires coalitions spanning seniors, employers and younger households, with immigration policies becoming predictably stable. China's authoritarian system offers different tools than democratic Taiwan or South Korea, but all face similar distributional negotiations about who pays for change and how quickly institutions adapt. East Asia can pioneer the world's first cluster of successful 'high-longevity, low-fertility' societies that maintain prosperity by maximizing capability at every age and background. This vision prioritizes time for caregivers, dignity for aging citizens, and inclusion for new residents across national boundaries. Japan's role as the demographic frontrunner makes it a crucial test case. If Japan develops effective adaptation strategies, they can inform approaches across the region and beyond. Many Western countries face similar but delayed transitions, making East Asian innovations globally relevant. The demographic crisis spans East Asia, but so does the opportunity for solutions. Japan's experience as the leading edge offers both warnings and hope for neighbors following the same path. The question isn't whether these societies will age and shrink—that's already happening. The question is whether they can build thriving models adapted to that reality, potentially transforming one of the 21st century's greatest challenges into a source of innovation and global leadership. Y. Tony Yang is an endowed professor and associate dean at the George Washington University in Washington, DC.


South China Morning Post
14 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Rebel's Romance bags another Group One as Sajir causes a huge $27 shock in France
Global sensation Rebel's Romance won his eighth Group One by regaining the Grosser Preis von Berlin (2,400m) at Hoppegarten on Sunday. Charlie Appleby's seven-year-old won four top-level races last year, - including the Group One Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m) at Sha Tin, - and has shown no signs of decline this campaign. Sent off as the $1.2 favourite after a pair of Group Two wins and a close Group One third at Ascot on his prior start, Rebel's Romance was always travelling best under Billy Loughnane and took over from long-time leader Junko 300m out. A global superstar! 💙 REBEL'S ROMANCE retains his Grosser Preis von Berlin crown in Germany to earn his eighth G1 for @godolphin. #WorldPool | @wettstar_de — World Pool (@WorldPool) August 10, 2025 That rival tried to battle back, but 2022 winner Rebel's Romance kept on strongly to win by three quarters of a length, providing 19-year-old Loughnane with his first Group One winner. 'It's a feeling I can't describe, a feeling of ecstasy. What a star of a horse. I'm very lucky to be riding in these colours and to have the opportunity to sit on a horse like this,' said Loughnane. 'He's a star of a horse. Big thanks to Will [Buick]. I spoke to him last night and he told me exactly what to do.' There was also simulcast action in France on Sunday, with Sajir causing a $27 boilover in the Group One Prix Maurice de Gheest (1,300m) at Deauville. Sajir springs a shock in the Group One Prix Maurice de Gheest! 🏆 — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) August 10, 2025 As is customary, $1.5 favourite Lazzat went to the front under James Doyle as he looked to back up his impressive Royal Ascot victory and cement himself as the best sprinter in Europe. HK Racing News Get updates direct to your inbox Sign up Best Bets Racing News By registering you agree to our T&Cs & Privacy Policy Error: Please enter a valid email. The email address is already in use. Please login to subscribe. Error, please try again later. THANK YOU You are one the list. Instead, it was Sajir who stole the show for Oisin Murphy, going from last to first to run down Lazzat and provide Andre Fabre with his first win in the race. 'This is the first time I've had him at 100 per cent,' said Fabre. 'He's always had some minor issues, but today he was in perfect condition. 'It could not be better, and Prince Faisal is a great man. He's a great breeder and a great person, so I'm delighted for him.'


South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong winners Lazzat and Rebel's Romance the star acts on Sunday's simulcast cards
The Group One winners are favourites for top-level races in France and Germany respectively on Sunday Lazzat will take the next step in cementing himself as the best European sprinter when he goes for back to back wins in the Group One Prix Maurice de Gheest (1,300m) at Deauville on Sunday. The Jerome Reynier-trained speedster is a perfect three from three at the sprint trips and bagged his second top-level success when making all the running in the Group One Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (1,200m) at Royal Ascot. He gave his connections a scare post race, however, unshipping his jockey James Doyle and providing fans with an unscheduled lap of honour. LAZZAT WINS THE QUEEN ELIZABETH II JUBILEE STAKES! 🏆 #ROYALASCOT — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 21, 2025 His Ascot win put him to the front of the pack in terms of European sprinters and he has drawn barrier three as he bids to follow up a dominant three-length success in this race from 12 months ago. 'He took fright at the blanket and ejected James Doyle before escaping, but fortunately there was no harm done,' Reynier said this week. 'He came out of his Ascot race very well. He adapts to everything, is used to Deauville and is ready to defend his title.' It will not be an easy task, however, with strong challengers from at home and abroad. The Prix Maurice de Gheest is one of the few Group One races that legendary trainer Andre Fabre is yet to win and Sajir, a Group Three winner at Newmarket two starts ago, will bid to put that right after being withdrawn at the start at Royal Ascot. The Abernant goes to France 🇫🇷 Sajir strikes for master trainer André Fabre and @oismurphy.@BlandfordBldstk | @NewmarketRace — Racing TV (@RacingTV) April 16, 2025 As for the raiders, the biggest danger is set to be the Kevin Ryan-trained Inisherin, an impressive winner of the Group One Commonwealth Cup (1,200m) at Royal Ascot last year. He ran out of steam when seventh to Lazzat at Ascot last time, but his trainer is confident of a return to form. 'It's unfortunate what happened in the July Cup, but that's past tense now, and it was always the plan after that to go to the Maurice de Gheest,' Ryan told the Nick Luck podcast. 'This is six-and-a-half furlongs, an extra half furlong, but it won't be a problem to him. He seems very well in himself and I'm looking forward to running him. I think the distance will really suit him.' Other leading contenders include Group One Prix Jean Prat (1,400m) winner Woodshauna and Godolphin's Shadow Of Light, who chased home that rival in fourth last time. WOODSHAUNA WINS THE PRIX JEAN PRAT! 🏆 — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) July 6, 2025 There is also German action being simulcast on Sunday, with the Group One Grosser Preis von Berlin (2,400m) being the feature contest. One of the biggest races in the German calendar, it has been won by raiding horses in three of the last four years. Last year's Group One Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m) winner Rebel's Romance heads the field and is set to go off a very warm order for 2022's winning trainer Charlie Appleby. Junko, who won the 2023 Group One Hong Kong Vase (2,400m), is another big danger from abroad for trainer Andre Fabre. The home team is headed by last year's second Narrativo, who chased home the smart Al Riffa on that occasion, but he may have to settle for the same position with another strong group of raiders.