HKJC Gala Dinner and Exploring Hong Kong Island

by Lucas Marquardt

Gala Dinner Spotlights Moore, HKJC & Aquatar
  Maybe it says something that Ryan Moore, just after being honored as the Longines World’s Best Jockey, stood holding the door for a stream of journalists who would presently encircle him, push cameras and recorders in his face and, in general, put him on the spot in a way that he notoriously dislikes. To the publicity-shy son of a small-time Sussex-based trainer, it appears, manners still matter. 

Moore and the journalists where heading out into a foyer at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, seeking out a quiet place to conduct interviews. Behind them, the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Gala Dinner, held in the Grand Hall, continued on at full force. 

Moore was being recognized for his achievements this year (well, really, from Dec. 1, 2013 through 
Nov. 30, 2014). In that stretch, he won five of the world’s Top 100 Group 1 races–as established by the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Committee. That was more than any other rider. His titles came on three different continents, and included the Dubai Sheema Classic, the Prix de Jockey Club, the Irish Champion S., the Cox Plate, and the Melbourne Cup. 

Moore’s acceptance speech, short as it was, actually put it to Dubai Race Night’s and Trakus’s Pat Cummings, who had set the over/under at 29.5 seconds and saw his 20-1 offering demolished when Moore checked in at 67 seconds. 

In all, the Gala Dinner was another example of the HKJC doing things the right way. The several hundred people who attended the event were treated to a great night of food, drink and entertainment. On the food front, a cream of chicken soup was followed by tuna ceviche, and then by a nicely cooked filet. It’s hard to turn out good food on scale; not a problem for these guys. 

As for the gathered entertainment, the themes of the night were power and precision. The featured musical act, a group called the Earth Harp Collective, ripped through “Come Together” on a variety of bizarre proprietary instruments while, above them, a pair of aerial silk acrobats performed. 

The group’s namesake instrument is a desk-sized piece of carved wood, from which emerges 22 wires that extend some 40 feet and attach to the ceiling. The player wears gloves covered in violin rosin. 

That wasn’t the only flashy gear the EHC could brag about. The guitarist stood behind a free-standing four-necked monster called an Aquatar. The drummer leapt up to play a Drum Cloud–a series of differently sized toms (they looked more like the Irish bodhran, actually) attached to a 10-foot rack. (Obviously I looked all this up; if you’re looking for Christmas gifts, click here.) 

One takeaway from the night–Longines really does a terrific job sponsoring racing events. Now the “official timekeeper” of all three Triple Crown races in the U.S., they just seem to be everywhere–Asia, Europe, North America, South America. Well done, guys. 

A Trip to Dragon’s Back Trail… 
With my videos edited, my picks in and most of the heavy lifting done in advance of the Hong Kong International Races, I skipped out on the morning trackwork Saturday and decided to see a side of Hong Kong I hadn’t yet seen–the largely undeveloped southern coast of Hong Kong Island. 

Most people, understandably, think of Hong Kong as a bustling economic center, with its 302 skyscrapers (the most in the world) and heavily trafficked port. But up to three quarters of the island is undeveloped, a mix of lush, green valley landscapes and rugged peaks. 

Tracing a path along the ridges that connect those peaks is Dragon’s Back Trail, an aptly named hike that takes you from Wan Cham Shan to Shek O to Big Wave Bay at a distance of six miles or so. 

Getting there was simple. From the press hotel in Wan Chai, I hopped on the MTR and took an eastbound train to Shau Kei Wan. A bus would take me the rest of the way. 

(Just think, in the same time it takes you to get from Manhattan to Bay Ridge, you can be on what TIME Asia once called the world’s best urban hiking trail! Or maybe it was only Asia’s best urban hiking trail.) 

Shau Kei Wan, the area where I got off the MTR, is a heavily Chinese section of Hong Kong with few tourists, except those like myself looking to catch a bus up to Shek O Country Park, where Dragon’s Back Trail starts. 

It was chilly when I emerged from the underground station, and I wasn’t wearing a jacket. This in itself was patently absurd, since I came to Asia with a jacket, and was subsequently gifted two more–one by the JRA, one by the HKJC. Wanting to make my mom proud, however, I made my way over to a nearby street market to see what I could find. 

The Kam Wa Street Market, packed on this morning, is the sort of place you’d expect to see Andrew Zimmern or Anthony Bourdain eating funky things in front of a camera crew. There were rows and rows of unfamiliar fruits and vegetables–oddly shaped and in hues most often associated with children’s vitamins. Butchers and fish sellers dominated both the market and the olfactory system. Massive chunks of raw flesh hung everywhere. A large but shallow metal pot held a few dozen large, raw squid. Fish were plucked from holding tanks and put into dry plastic bins, flipping and gasping in a way that made me sing Faith No More’s “Epic” quietly to myself. 

Eventually, I came across an elderly Chinese lady selling jackets and sweaters. I found a black vest that fit well. I looked at the tag: 5XL. “This a lady’s vest?” I asked. She shrugged, so I did too, and handed over HK$100, about $13. 

I bought a still-warm cinnamon-raisin roll from a bakery and made my way over to a group of mini-buses. A young man jumped out with great urgency and pointed to his bus. “Going to Dragon’s Back?” I asked. He nodded yes, than said something that definitely wasn’t “Dragon’s Back.” But like I said, I think most every tourist in this part of town is headed there, so I figured this guy knew better than me. 

The drive to the trailhead is steep and curvy, and, given that we were weren’t exactly making the trip in a Porsche, what the ferry ride to Macau couldn’t, the trip to Dragon’s Back nearly did. I took a few deep breaths as we were let off along the side of the road, just in front of the trailhead, which helped. As did the view. Even from here, the panorama was stunning. The beach town of Stanley, on Tai Tam Wan Bay, sits below. Just to the north were the bold silhouettes of pair of mountains called–and I’m serious here–The Twins. 

The first mile or so of the trail is the most difficult. You climb large stone steps up and up, as the bright windbreakers of climbers in front of you flash in the distance from time to time. As you ascend, the trail flattens and becomes mostly dirt, and by the time you reach the ridge, the wind has returned to your lungs. 

From there, you can see Hong Kong’s southeastern shore a few miles below. Shek O–“rocky bay” in Chinese–is built up on a small spit, and while it used to be primarily a fishing village, it’s now better known for its exclusive golf course and wide, sandy public beach. 

Walking north, Big Wave Bay comes into view on the right. Even from the trail, you could see dozens of surfers, all in wetsuits, taking advantage of the sunny weather. 

Though there were a lot of hikers below, the crowd thinned the farther I hiked, enough so that I felt comfortable, in lieu of working headphones, putting some music on my phone. When I saw four older Chinese folks coming toward me, I quickly turned it off. I didn’t want to be the rude American cranking his tunes on a nature walk. As they walked by, Elton John was blaring from one of the lady’s backpacks. 

The trail crests above Big Wave Bay, then curves away from the water, taking you down a long wooded path–this part is two miles maybe?–before swinging back and concluding at the northern tip of Big Wave. All the sudden you feel like your in a small surfing village in Hawaii. The handful of shops there, sitting haphazard on tiny, crooked streets, sold either snacks or surfboards. Opting for the former, I got a Corona, picked a bench and sat there for the better part of 
45 minutes, thankful for a lot of things, and in particular my comfy new vest.