This weekend we welcome back an old friend, and farewell an acquaintance that has worn out his welcome for now, as Happy Valley returns to action.
From Thursday we can begin to let the last of the dreaded midweek night meetings at Sha Tin begin to fade into memory, and ease into racing in town each Wednesday night.
There’s not much to like about racing at Sha Tin on a Wednesday evening. The only positive might be that you get to know the regulars a lot better, but that’s only because there’s no one else there – so you get the opportunity to strike up a conversation with them and ask how their family is doing.
It’s an “industry” night – only those with a vested interest show up, and many of them produce a sick note come race night anyway.
Looking around at the rows of empty seats under the floodlights, it feels like a weird dream where you turned up to work on the wrong day.
One of the great things about Happy Valley as a racecourse is that “real” spectators show up – that includes, most importantly, people with absolutely no idea about racing, and isn’t the place better for it?
It’s amazing how the “I’m just here for the wine and party” demographic can hold the key to a decent day at the races, even if they don’t donate a cent to turnover. Without them, racing can seem like a living roulette wheel.
There should be a great buzz on Sunday when the gates open to the public at Happy Valley once again, and day meetings at the venue are a real twice-a-year highlight.
Wednesday nights are when the atmosphere really turns electric, though, and with the mild weather and an after-work crowd starved of race nights since June, the crowd should be approaching capacity next week.
The return of the Valley can’t come soon enough for the club, which, on National Day faced the reality of – heaven forbid – a negative year-on-year comparison on turnover for a Sha Tin meeting.
That was a meeting that was on a public holiday, so it would have been at Sha Tin anyway, and was affected by the Occupy protests and four races on the aforementioned “dreaded dirt”.
Still, the out-of-character turnover dip seems indicative of a certain staleness in early-season racing, characterised by small field sizes. It will be interesting to see whether it was the lack of a third venue that was partly responsible for the small fields.
Anyway, this is all getting a bit too serious, so back to the city circuit.
Firstly, there are better looking fans at Happy Valley – the Beer Garden is a haven for backpackers and bored business types kicking up their heels, and as the old adage goes, if you can get the girls there, the boys will follow.
Not saying the average racegoer at Sha Tin is ugly or anything, but they could easily be hired to haunted houses in their spare time. At a midweek Sha Tin meeting, a cigarette carelessly dangling from your mouth at all times isn’t just a fashion accessory, it’s a necessity.
The hardcore racegoers and pro punters will also be desperate for the Valley to get back into action to avoid the inconsistencies and bias of the all-weather, sorry, dirt track.
It’s been hard work finding winners on Wednesday, and there are only eight more dirt races to get through before we can get back to the relative joys of analysing which horses will handle a switch to the “smaller track” better, and what a jockey will do when drawn 12 from the Valley’s crazy 1,200m starting gate.
Can we can add some fireworks after race eight on Wednesday night? Because the return to the Valley is cause for celebration.
