Horse racing: NZ owners allowed to race in Hong Kong

Sir Peter Vela with daughters Petrea (right) and Victoria. Photo / Supplied

Three New Zealand racing owners have been granted a historic first and will become among the first foreigners to be allowed to regularly race horses in Hong Kong.

While foreign-owned horses are allowed to compete at the international meetings in the mega-rich racing jurisdiction, horses that race there regularly have to be owned by Hong Kong Jockey Club members.

Those members, who until recently had to be Hong Kong residents, are then eligible to enter the ballot for import permits, which each equate to one horse they are allowed to compete at the Sha Tin and Happy Valley meetings.

The HKJC has eased those restrictions slightly in the last two years to allow a handful of overseas members and the only three new members with permits announced this week are all New Zealanders.

New Zealand Bloodstock and Pencarrow Stud owner Sir Peter Vela has secured membership and a racing permit as has his daughter Petrea Vela, a former managing director of NZB and now board member.

They are joined as new HKJC members and permit holders by Greg Tomlinson, breeder and owner, who owns Nearco Stud.

That will mean all three can have horses racing under their names and in their colours in Hong Kong, which for Sir Peter will be a return to the scene of one of his greatest moments.

“Hong Kong racing has always been very special to us because of its relevance to the New Zealand industry and the wonderful success New Zealand-bred horses have had up there,” said Sir Peter.

“One of the greatest wins of my years of ownership was when Romanee Conti won the Hong Kong Cup for my brother Philip and I in 1993. It was a very special win because of the quality of horses she beat. Urban Sea finished behind her that day and she went on to win the Arc in Paris and become the dam of all-time great in Sea The Stars and Galileo.

“So to have this opportunity for myself and Petrea to be members and have horses racing in our family colours is a great privilege.”

Tomlinson is a quiet but hugely successful achiever in New Zealand racing and also no stranger to elite-level success in Hong Kong, having bred one of the region’s great recent stars in Beauty Generation.

All three have been granted what are known as Private Purchase Import Permits (PPs) which will allow them to send horses which have previously run in Hong Kong to race for enormous stakes.