Macau's best racehorses will lose some of their handicap edge against Hong Kong rivals in the new conditions for the $2.3 million Hong Kong Macau Trophy at Sha Tin on January 30.
Taipa-trained Crown's Gift won the interport races last season on both sides of the Pearl Delta when Macau runners received a much-discussed 17-pound allowance in the handicaps.
In light of that dual success, the Hong Kong and Macau jockey clubs have now agreed to a lesser assistance of 15 pounds' allowance this term.
'Actually it was a difficult thing despite the fact that Macau won both of the races,' said Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the Hong Kong Jockey Club executive director of racing yesterday.
'Clearly Crown's Gift did not deserve to receive a 17-pounds' allowance last season, and perhaps for the best one or two Macau horses, that is the case. However, I still wonder whether 15 pounds will be enough assistance for say the third, fourth, fifth-ranked Macau horses. We will continue to assess the situation as we run more races.'
The Sha Tin race was 1,600 metres in 2004 but will be reduced to 1,400m this time, as the clubs believed a rise in distance to the later 1,500m event at Taipa gave 'a better interchange' between events.