The Jockey Club will not rest on its laurels after Sunday's successful 2011 Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races, and chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges says there is 'a unique opportunity' to raise the meeting to an even higher global profile.
Without a single, defining championship performance to hang them on, the four international Group One events nevertheless showcased some great racing, watched by a big local crowd and a huge worldwide audience and the day proved a considerable turnover success as well.
'With 14,000 people working on the day and planning for months in advance by more than 200 people, this week is a big project but there is great satisfaction for everyone that it turns out the way it did on Sunday,' Engelbrecht-Bresges said. 'I believe it was the best CXHKIR yet and we had guests at the meeting from outside of racing, including the International Olympic Committee, who thought it was an absolutely fantastic event. Still, I think there is a unique opportunity to make it even better.'
And the way forward will rely on one familiar word: money.
'A number of European trainers and owners told me that, if our prizemoney was increased then many of them would be happy to bypass the Breeders' Cup to come here, where everything is very well organised and conducted and the playing field is a level one, ' Engelbrecht-Bresges said, a veiled reference to drug rules in the US.
'And we will reassess our prizemoney, but we cannot finance that from the betting turnover on the day, as significant as it is. There are two areas where we will look at the possibilities - one, which we have had as an ongoing issue, commingling, and the other is through examining our sponsorship avenues. We have many of the world's top owners targeting out races now and we can make this the meeting if we lift the stakes offered.'