Sa Sa Ladies’ day out in Hong Kong

By MAJORIE CHIEW
Publisher:The Star - Publication Date: 16-11-2007

What do beauties and racehorses have in common? They both make heads turn and hearts race faster!
Horse-racing is a highly popular pastime among locals and tourists in Hong Kong. First held in 1848, the Ladies’ Purse Day is one of Hong Kong’s oldest and most popular race events.
Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse Day has been a success in the last two years. Simon Kwok Siu Ming, chairman and CEO of Sa Sa, was especially pleased with this year’s turnout at the 3rd Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse Day held at Sha Tin Racecourse last month.
He announced that Sa Sa International Holdings Limited, Asia’s leading cosmetics retailing and beauty services group, and Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) have signed an agreement to hold the Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse Day for another three years (2008 to 2010). This fulfils Sa Sa’s aims to promote this popular sport and support local charities through its sponsorship.
This move serves to further strengthen Sa Sa’s branding and corporate social responsibility. The fundraising event held at the Jockey Box raised over HK$50,000 (USD 6,425) for China AIDS Initiative. The company was also involved in the Miss Hong Kong Pageant 2006 and movie sponsorship.
According to a press release, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, CEO of HKJC, said that racing was perceived as a male dominant sport but the Jockey Club had been very successful in turning this around with partnership with Sa Sa since 2005.
Last year, the Sa Sa Ladies' Purse Day attracted more than 70,000 race goers and became a talk-of-the-town event. He remarked that it was a race day synonymous with Hong Kong’s appreciation for style, elegance and top class racing.
This year, over 60,000 race goers turned up at the Sha Tin Racecourse. The numbers was less than last year but still considered a record-high for this season.
Apart from the main Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse Race, other races held that day included the Elizabeth Arden Handicap, L’Oreal Paris Handicap, Glycel Handicap, La Colline Handicap, Anna Sui Flight of Fancy Handicap, Suisse Programme Handicap, Valmont Handicap, Phillip Wain Handicap and the Sa Sa Beauty Handicap.

Traditionally, the owner, trainer and jockey of the winning horse of the Ladies’ Purse race would be awarded gold coins as the prize. Nowadays, a silver dish is presented to the horse’s owner shortly after the race. A gold coin in a wallet would also be presented to the winning horse owner, trainer and jockey.

To celebrate Sa Sa’s title sponsorship of the Ladies’ Purse Day 2007, the group launched a series of “Glamorous Surprise” promotion activities last September at Sa Sa shops in Hong Kong. Purchases over HK$100 (RM42) entitled customers a chance to redeem limited edition Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse souvenirs such as silk scent bags, key-chains and bracelets at special prices.
For the 300 VIPs at the Jockey Club Box, a day at the races turned out to be a laid back affair. Guests wined and dined on gourmet food, and betting stations were placed steps away within reach. Lunch stretched on until teatime when hot souffles and polo buns were snapped up as soon as they arrived. Even the lovely beauties forgot their waistlines for the day as they piled their plates high with chocolates and other treats.
Women went about in pretty dresses but it was their glamorous hats that stole the show. A slew of photographers trained their lenses on these two-legged beauties rather than the four-legged ones. Hong Kong top model Gaile Lai (actor Leon Lai’s girlfriend) embodied sweet innocence in a spaghetti strapped brown dress with floral prints and matching brown hat. Did she place any bets?
“Not yet. I’m not familiar (with the game). I’m still watching and learning,” said Lai, who was the star attraction at the races. She disclosed that she used various skincare products. Her must-haves include facial masks and moisturiser.
It would be inconceivable not to gamble when you’re at the races. Guy Look, chief financial officer and executive director of Sa Sa, asked whether I had bet on any of the horses. He smiled when I said no, but later, my Malaysian friends and I made a beeline for the betting counters.
Our gamble didn’t pay off but heck, this is the races - you win some, you lose some. It didn’t matter that Lady Luck was not on our side. We had fun – the bets, the hats and the dressing up – all made it an event to remember.
And, to top it all off, we even got to watch Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution – uncensored!

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