The Triple Trio again went unclaimed resulting in another huge jackpot for next week's Sha Tin meeting, but worse still, losing punters could not even drown their sorrows after a licensing mix-up meant no alcohol could be served in the members' section of the racecourse.
The TT has not been claimed in six consecutive meetings since Champions Mile day on May 4, and a wipe-out result in the final leg means a massive $94 million jackpot will roll over to next Sunday's Sha Tin card.
Jockey Club boss Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said the tough-to-crack Triple Trio results were testament to the club's competitive racing, but he was clearly disappointed with the ban on alcohol sales in the Sha Tin Clubhouse and in the members' areas.
"It was something that shouldn't have happened," Engelbrecht-Bresges said. "The members stand is linked to the Clubhouse licence and the application was late. Luckily, on Thursday night our compliance function informed our membership side that we didn't have the licence for serving of alcohol. The good news is that we have a compliance system that works."
Alcohol could still be served in the public section and members were notified of the situation on Friday, and were able to bring their own alcohol with them.
The ban will stay in place until at least June 25 when the Hong Kong Liquor Licensing Board meets, a period that includes three more Sha Tin meetings.
The Triple Trio was already carrying a HK$64 million jackpot coming into Sunday's raceday and it seemed likely to go off - at least after the first leg, where Win Along beat favourite Oriental Fantasia and Real General, which left $825,592 in the pool. The second leg further whittled things down, leaving just $14,704 alive going into the last after heavily-backed favourite Sparkling Sword missed a place and 9-1 shot Thanksgiving beat Really The Best and Celestial Smile.
It was 115-1 longshot Cheryl's Horse that did the real damage in the final leg as the Andreas Schutz-trained galloper blew everyone out of the water by hanging on for third, behind Industrialist Way and Malayan Pearl.
Schutz seemed particularly pleased with his role as party pooper, stopping to take a picture of the infield dividend board displaying his horse's place payout of $301 for a $10 investment.
A club spokesman said next week's jackpot would create an estimated dividend of $140 million for a single $10 ticket.
