There has been no racing in Hong Kong for nearly seven weeks but there is always something happening. Here are some newsworthy events from the off-season.

Private purchase ratings lowered

The Jockey Club hopes a reduction to the rating applied to private purchase imports (previously raced horses) will “improve the value proposition” for its owners.

By reducing the minimum ratings for normal private purchases (PPs) and normal replacement PPs from 68 to 63, as well as dropping all minimum special replacement marks by five, the Jockey Club is aiming to aid the transition for incoming gallopers and level the playing field between PPs and private purchase griffins – previously unraced gallopers who are handed a rating of 52 on arrival.

“The club conducted a holistic review of the overall structure of the horse population to address the parity between PPs and private purchase griffins, as well as market conditions,” executive director of racing Andrew Harding said.

“It is important to note that the new minimum levels of initial ratings will not reduce the required level of ability in the assessment of overseas horses to qualify for import to Hong Kong. We will not compromise on quality.

“These changes are intended solely to improve the value proposition for horse owners importing PPs and increase the competitiveness of these horses as they make the transition to Hong Kong.”

To go with a raft of prize-money increases announced at the end of last season, the Jockey Club has also beefed up the high achievement bonus on offer to PPs with an initial rating of 75 or higher.

On top of the HK$1.5 million bonus given to those high-rated PPs who win in Class Two before reaching five years of age, an additional HK$1.5 million will be awarded if the galloper can win an unrestricted race in Class One or above when rated 100 or higher and still under five years old.

“It is another measure to support those owners who are making the investment in horses that have the highest potential to contribute to our world-class racing,” Harding said.

“Last season we achieved extraordinary results in really challenging circumstances and what we’ve done is look strategically at what changes we can make to put us in the best possible position to again perform very strongly in this next season.”

Trainers’ benchmark tweaked

The Jockey Club has made life harder for those at the bottom of the trainers’ table, restricting the Class Five wins counted in their final tally to two.

While before trainers with a Conghua stable had to train 18 winners to avoid a strike and those with just a Hong Kong base needed 16, dual-site trainers now need 16 of their 18 winners to be in Class Four or higher and single-site trainers 14 of their 16.

Prize money was also taken into account under the previous rules, with dual-site trainers with 16 or 17 winners and HK$24.5 million in prize money and single-site trainers with 14 or 15 winners and HK$22 million in stakes avoiding a strike, but that will no longer be the case.

Callan, Lo back in the winner’s circle

Exactly a month after signing off from Hong Kong racing with victory aboard Helen Wisdom Star at the Happy Valley season finale on July 14, Neil Callan announced his return to the United Kingdom with a win aboard Tatsumaki at Newmarket.

The Irishman has gone on to collect two more victories – saluting aboard Countessa and Pinball Wizard at Kempton – and has three wins from 30 rides since making the move.

Meanwhile, apprentice Gary Lo King-yeung’s bid to resurrect his career in Australia after he was sensationally sacked by the Jockey Club before riding in a Hong Kong race gathered steam over the weekend.

After nearly 18 months out of the saddle, the 22-year-old again tasted success when he landed a double aboard Tommy Blue and Free Of Debt at Morphettville on Saturday and guided Notice Me to victory at Port Augusta on Sunday.

Lo rejoined his old boss Phillip Stokes’ Adelaide stable in July and returned to race riding on August 7.

Off-season simulcasts a hit

The Jockey Club’s off-season simulcast offering saw punters bet more than HK$3.1 billion across the 12 meetings, with South Africa’s Champions Cup Day on July 31 proving the most popular with HK$336,010,282 wagered.

While historically no overseas meetings were permitted to be simulcast during the Hong Kong season between July 17 and August 31, a one-off allowance was given for the Kranji Mile card from Singapore last off-season and the Jockey Club got permission to offer a full smorgasbord this time around.

With action on offer from France, Glorious Goodwood and the Ebor Festival, nine of the 12 meetings saw turnover of more than HK$250 million.

Korea again postpones international features

Korea’s two races open for international competition – the Korea Cup and Korea Sprint – will not take place for the second consecutive year “due to ongoing global health implications of Covid-19 and associated quarantine measures”.

Traditionally held in September, the Korea Racing Authority opted to again push back it’s marquee fixtures by 12 months after Covid-19 prevented them from taking place last year.

The Korea Cup and Korea Sprint were first held in 2016 and Hong Kong has had a strong presence in the four years the races have taken place, with Super Jockey winning the Sprint in the inaugural year.