The controversy of the Hong Kong Sprint selection aside, the latest edition of the International Races promises to be the most exciting yet staged.
This year, with prizemoney boosted to HK$62 million, the meeting has the potential to provide the most powerful thoroughbred racing encounters of the year, anywhere.
The Jockey Club invited 33 of the best horses available from around the world last Wednesday and although three of them have since fallen over - French filly Mandesha and Japan Cup failures Freedonia and Swift Current - that still makes 30 quality horses from nine countries, including 16 individual Group One winners.
It may not generally be appreciated just how hard it is to get this many horses to travel halfway around the world, knowing that the prizes are anything but easy to win.
The home team have won so much respect in recent years, with world conquerors like Silent Witness, Cape Of Good Hope, Bullish Luck and Vengeance Of Rain, that Hong Kong horses will never again be classed as easy beats.
Yet, the lure of Hong Kong's biggest sporting event continues to make wider appeal.
