DENNIS YIP, TONY CRUZ REFLECT ON ‘LOTS OF GOOD MEMORIES’ AS CURTAIN COMES DOWN ON RACING IN MACAU

Veteran local trainer will attend the gambling hub's final meeting on Saturday: 'Sending a horse to Macau was always a lot of fun'

As the curtain comes down on decades of history at Taipa racecourse this weekend, plenty among Hong Kong racing circles are reflecting on the "good memories" made in Macau over the years.

The Macau Jockey Club's [MJC] concession to run racing will cease after Saturday's 14-race meeting, marking the end of a sport that has been part of the furniture in the gambling hub since 1989.

While the current fortunes of racing in Hong Kong and Macau could not be more contrasting, there was a time when Taipa was thriving and it has been a happy hunting ground for Hong Kong's horses, trainers, jockeys and owners.

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Hong Kong's most successful trainers in the city are Tony Cruz, whose mother was born in Macau, and Dennis Yip Chor-hong, with the pair boasting three victories apiece in the Macau Hong Kong Trophy (1,500m).

"It's very sad. Such bad news," said Cruz. "I was invited to ride there by the Macau Jockey Club and I rode a few winners. I loved to send my horses over there to race and we won a few races. It's so sad."

Michael Chang Chun-wai collected a win with Noble Alpha in 2013, while Caspar Fownes returned from Macau victorious with My Name Is Bond in 2014.

Yip claimed the prestigious contest in 2009, 2015 and 2019 and he'll be on course to farewell the sport alongside old friends.

"I have lots of good memories racing in Macau and I'll be there this Saturday for the last meeting," Yip said. "It's completely different to Hong Kong, of course, but sending a horse to Macau was always a lot of good fun. Plus, Hong Kong horses always did very well in Macau.

"It is quite sad. I have friends over there and I'm not sure when I'll see them again after Saturday. They are very good people in Macau."

The first Hong Kong-trained horse was sent to Macau in 2004 and 71 horses followed in the subsequent 20 years, returning eight winners, nine seconds and seven third-place finishes.

Among those who enjoyed success in the jurisdiction are six-time champion jockey Zac Purton, "Magic Man" Joao Moreira, Silvestre de Sousa and Mark Newnham.

After riding for Gai Waterhouse in Sydney, Newnham enjoyed his first foray into overseas racing with a three-month stint in Macau nearly 20 years ago.

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"It was a long time ago and it was a thriving racing community not that long ago," Newnham said.

"It's sad that it is finishing because there are some great people there and there have been some very good people there over the years. Things change and unfortunately that's not always for the better."

Despite the sport's nearly 25-year contract extension in 2018, racing in Macau was brought to an abrupt end when the government announced in January that no further tenders to operate the sport would be offered from April 1.

In announcing the decision to end racing, the Macau Horse Race Company said it had experienced severe financial difficulties in recent years, with an accumulated deficit exceeding 2.5 billion patacas (US$310 million).