All eyes will be on Frankie Dettori as he bids farewell to Royal Ascot this week and Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges believes there is a “good chance” the superstar Italian jockey will strut his stuff in Hong Kong once more.
Dettori, who will retire at the end of the year, has not been seen in the city since international day in 2019.
The 52-year-old was non-committal about a possible return on the sidelines of the Dubai World Cup meeting in March, maintaining, “I’m not going to say no, but I’m not going to say yes”.
Engelbrecht-Bresges said “multiple discussions” were taking place around the possibility of Hong Kong fans seeing Dettori in December, but he was “cautiously optimistic”.
“I think there is a good chance, but it depends on a lot of issues,” he said. “He definitely won’t ride in the International Jockeys’ Championship, but maybe he will have a ride at the international races. That would be a wonderful farewell.
“It’s his last Royal Ascot and it will draw a lot of excitement. He’s a fantastic ambassador for the sport.”
With the Richard Gibson-trained Wellington set to run in Saturday’s Group One Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (1,200m), Engelbrecht-Bresges will make the trip to Ascot, and it won’t only be Dettori he is courting.
“It’s a platform to promote our international races because in the end, many owners make a decision on where to send their horses during this period of time,” he said.
“After Royal Ascot, there’s always decisions about what horses should aim for, and for us it’s important that we put our name out. There’s still some misunderstanding about how easy or difficult it is to go to Hong Kong, so we have to show our colours and reestablish ourselves.”
While Wellington has had to hand up the title of Hong Kong’s premier sprinter to Lucky Sweynesse in recent months, the six-year-old is still racing well and looks to be a live chance in a race where Australian speedster Artorius is favourite.
“It’s very exciting to have Wellington there. It’s fantastic. I think Wellington is definitely a very suitable representative for Hong Kong,” Engelbrecht-Bresges said.
“With Richard Gibson having one of his last runners as a Hong Kong trainer in an international race, I think everything is set for a great finale.
Gibson ‘grateful, honoured’ as he confirms 2022-23 will be his last season in HK
“Richard has a proven history of preparing horses for overseas trips so I’m optimistic he will run a really good race.
“Lucky Sweynesse is in his own league, but Wellington should carry the Hong Kong colours well and I personally think he is a chance. He should not have an issue with the straight, it can be tricky sometimes but I think he has enough stamina.”
The Jockey Club recently struck a new five-year deal with the UK Tote to continue the growth of the World Pool – a commingled tote pool featuring pari-mutuel operators from across the globe with the aim of offering unparalleled liquidity to punters – and Engelbrecht-Bresges is confident turnover will be strong throughout Royal Ascot.
“Ascot was our first partner and we practically initiated the World Pool with them. I’m optimistic we will see further growth in the World Pool and it is very good our strategic partnership with Ascot has come to fruition, which is for the benefit for global racing,” he said.
