The Jockey Club faces an unenviable task with its International Races - how do you improve on something that is already the benchmark and acclaimed by visitors from all around the world?
The 'turf world championships' have become a serious target for many of the best horses and the list of winners is now becoming a thoroughbred Who's Who, but one way the club might improve the day is by adding a regional championship - one we might call the Asian Guineas, a terms race for three- and four-year-olds at either 1,600 or 1,800 metres.
The Jockey Club could attract strong southern hemisphere interest from the three-year-olds at an intermediate distance, with Australians coming out of the Caulfield Guineas in early October and the Sandown Guineas in the second week of November. In New Zealand, it could be for horses out of the 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas at Riccarton in November.
The Satsuki Sho, Japan's 2,000 Guineas, is over 2,000 metres earlier in the year but for those youngsters who are doubtful beyond that distance an international Asian Guineas at the end of the year might be an attractive alternative.
Jurisdictions like Dubai, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia would love the chance to participate in a regional 'classic' and any or all of those races might be brought more closely to the Asian Guineas by a network of incentive bonuses.
An Asian Guineas on international day in Hong Kong would provide a great showcase for the region as a whole, and foster closer ties between the major Asian jurisdictions.
