Has the Hong Kong Jockey Club placed an enormous ante-post bet on China?

Sometimes you can listen and listen and still leave the room thinking about something that was never said, nor even hinted at, nor yet ever likely to be hinted at. Last Thursday, at Happy Valley racecourse in Hong Kong, was one of those times.

The mandarins of the Hong Kong Jockey Club had spent two hours or so regaling the assembly about the new training centre that has been built at Conghua in mainland China, painting a picture of a state-of-the-art complex that would complement the current facilities at Sha Tin and allow Hong Kong to expand its horse population.

There was also much made about a comparison with Baden-Baden, which combines tourism with racing as it is hoped Conghua – there are hot springs there too – will do.