New Hall of Fame

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by CSC

I couldn't disagree more with this statement, Hong Kong horses wouldn't be considered yet. It's still not yet completely major league
Your determining factor or precursor for this statement is too narrow(black or white), they may simply be unineterested in shipping to Europe or NA as logistically it wouldn't make sense as purses over there are large. Look they have big name jockies, high quality racing, great facilities, overflowing crowds, it is big league. The few times they did ship Vengence of Rain did win the Sheema Classic in 07. I think Bullish Luck a turf horse finished a respectable 3rd in the Dubai World Cup.

Japan didn't start shipping horses until recently, but I would venture to guess that your opinion of them would have been simular until they showed up in America, the fact is races in Australia, Japan, and Hong Kong are of the highest level. Just because they haven't proven it here year in year out does not mean their racing is any less quality.

Horses can't just stay in their area and compete and then be put on a world level. It's almost the same thing here in the U.S. Horses that compete in California only aren't given the same respect as horses that travel and compete against the best in the nation. The purses are great here in Cal, the jockey colony is nice, the races are big races. But to a lot of the rest of the country, the horses are still seen as "nice horse in California but what will happen when they cross the Mississippi?" Same thing with the Hong Kong horses. I'm not saying at all that they are bad horses or that the racing is bad. But until they start proving on a consistent basis that they can leave their friendly confines and beat the best in a the world on a regular basis, I still think of them as provincial champions. The very best ones, I know that they can compete on a world level. But there just aren't that many of them yet. It also seems to me that when they have their few races that attract the best international horses, the international horses come in and win more than the local ones. Sort of like how the Europeans come here and consistently kick our butts in the BC grass races. Sure, we sprinkle in some wins here and there but I don't think anyone would argue that when it comes to grass racing, we lag behind them. Same concept with regards to HK horses on the world stage.