Helios Express provided the wow factor at Sha Tin on Sunday and it was just as well, with the smallest weekend crowd so far this year bringing very little buzz to the feature meeting.

While 38,323 packed Hong Kong Stadium on Sunday to watch Lionel Messi sit on the bench, that seems to have contributed little to just 12,939 people being on track for the Classic Mile – only 879 more attended Lucky Sweynesse’s Group One flop a week earlier – and the figure is a continuation of a Covid-19 hangover proving tough to shake.

Sunday’s was the third-lowest crowd to grace Sha Tin on a weekend or public holiday this season, with only the taxing little festive stretch – created by the Jockey Club’s insistence on plonking a replacement meeting on Boxing Day – generating less interest from racegoers.

Even more telling is the fact the final pre-Covid Classic Mile card, which saw Furore steam to victory in 2019, attracted 22,829 people.

“If you compare it with 2018-19, we are around 5,000 to 6,000 people less [across the board]. There has been a massive change in consumer behaviour and people stay home,” said Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges.

“We have to review what we do to encourage race-going. We want to create an atmosphere and we have certain races, when we put significant promotion up, it works.

“But our average race-going crowd is less because people were practically excluded [from the racecourse] for three years and therefore it is a massive change in behaviour. That is my big concern.

“We have to see what we can do to encourage people to come out to Sha Tin. Happy Valley is relatively normal, but especially Sha Tin is something we are reviewing.”

Helios Express shows star qualities with Classic Mile romp at Sha Tin

Happy Valley’s midweek meetings are, of course, much less about the racing than Sha Tin, with the beer garden and its live music a melting pot of tourists and the city’s after-work crowd.

Engelbrecht-Bresges suggested areas like food and beverage, entertainment and loyalty programmes would be explored further at Sha Tin, with performances by big-name local acts used to generate interest among different demographics already this season.

There must also be merit in looking into how feature meetings that aren’t marquee events like the Longines Hong Kong International Races can be spiced up.

The nine-runner Classic Mile looked underwhelming on paper and, outside the sparkling showing of Helios Express, felt like little more than any other race.

It did, of course, have the drawn out and banal post-race presentation that goes hand in hand with Hong Kong’s big races and – I hope you’re sitting down – slightly fancier saddlecloths, but generally there was nothing of any great substance pre-race aimed at generating excitement on course.

Engelbrecht-Bresges talks of needing to attract fans on multiple occasions before they are hooked – “we know from our statistics, if people go to the races seven times or more, the stickiness of the product is much higher” – and officials will be hoping next Monday’s Lunar New Year meeting can act as a starting point for some much-needed momentum.

More than 80,000 people streamed through the gates last Lunar New Year and attendance exceeded 105,000 in 2019, ensuring next Monday’s card will provide yet another revealing measuring stick.

Cup attracts just six

While officials are hoping next Monday’s meeting attracts a sizeable crowd, the afternoon’s feature – the Class One Chinese New Year Cup (1,400m) – has done anything but.

Just six gallopers, the fewest since 2019, have been entered for the contest and the Jockey Club’s racing registry had to battle just to reach half a dozen.

Red-hot Ricky Yiu looks to extend purple patch with Happy Valley specialist

While the 95-plus rated race initially had just four entries, the Jockey Club lowered the minimum rating to 90 on Monday morning and managed to rustle up two more runners.

It then had another crack, lowering the minimum to 85, but that failed to flush out any further Class Two seven-furlong specialists.

That leaves Courier Wonder, Duke Wai, Super Wealthy, Red Lion, Running Glory and Mugen to do battle in the HK$3.72 million contest.