Crucial low draw can ensure Yip’s Fire leads punters to a Sha Tin Ball

WITH only a handful of fixtures remaining before the end of the Hong Kong season, and connections in the territory desperate to get a win before their horses earn a welcome summer break, it may be worth looking beyond the obvious for potential winners.

Former champion trainer Dennis Yip has had a season to forget with just 21 winners on the scoresheet and is languishing in the bottom-half of the trainers’ table.

The popular local handler started off the season brightly, but from Christmas onwards has found winners hard to come by, and has suffered long losing sequences along the way.

There has, however, been signs of a revival in recent times, with a couple of winners at the Valley and a double at Sha Tin on Saturday, suggesting the stable could be ending the season on a high.

With the majority of Yip’s performers now on attractive marks in the handicap, keep a close eye on his runners in the closing weeks, with winners likely to pop up at attractive odds.

It is hard to make a case for FIRE BALL in the opener, the Waglan Island Handicap (12.15pm) over seven furlongs, but a close look at the formbook suggests he has had little or no chance from a series of high draws in recent times.

Finally, he has now got an allimportant low gate in two and finds himself running off a mark four pounds lower than the one he won off earlier in the season.

With useful claimer Angus Chung taking off another valuable seven pounds in the saddle, and likely to bounce his mount out and be up with the pace from the off, Fire Ball’s chances looks bright and he could surprise better fancied rivals.

POINTERS

Fire Ball e/w 12.15pm Sha Tin

IN SW19, there is no mistaking when the Wimbledon Championships are in full swing. Thousands of tennis fans descend on the All England Club; the air is thick with the scent of grass, Pimm’s and strawberries; and you might even bump into a player in the local pub.

Now, organisers are hoping to recreate the Wimbledon buzz 3,500 miles away with The Hill in New York, a fan zone in Brooklyn Bridge Park which will show action from the tournament on a big screen and serve up quintessential British fayre against Manhattan’s iconic backdrop.

The Hill, which debuted last summer and has expanded for this year, is part of a concerted push into the US market which also includes a new sponsorship deal with Barclays, who share similar transatlantic objectives, says Sally Bolton, chief executive of Wimbledon organisers the AELTC.

“As a global brand already, we have an ambition to continue to advance the opportunities for people to enjoy Wimbledon,” Bolton told City A.M.

“We think we’ve got a really good foothold in the US. But we also think there is plenty of untapped potential to invite more people to enjoy the fantastic experience of Wimbledon.

“Of course many of those people will never come here on site, so we took a tiny piece of SW19 to Brooklyn Bridge Park and created a viewing experience with a big screen over the finals weekend to give people in New York a taste.

“That has been really well received. We will look to other markets internationally where we can take a piece of the Championships.”

Pushing Wimbledon’s appeal in the States can drive more value for sponsors and broadcasters. The latter contributes more than half of the club’s £247m revenue, but the £33m received annually from US partner ESPN is dwarfed by the £59m the network pays the US Open.

Sanctity

The AELTC could rake in far more than the estimated £50m it derives from sponsorships with blue-chip brands which also include IBM, Ralph Lauren and Jaguar. New this year is a tie-up with online game Fortnite, although there is no hurry to expand the suite of partners.

“Part of maintaining the sanctity of a brand not just in the UK but globally is thinking really carefully about the people who you partner with. People are judged by the friends that they keep and I think that brands are no different,” says Bolton.