The bell sounds as 11 runners in the Gold Cup break from the stalls at Hong Kong’s famous Sha Tin racecourse.

But there is no customary roar from 30,000 excited punters lining the home straight. This year the grandstands are empty.

Welcome to horse racing behind closed doors, the latest sporting victim of the coronavirus outbreak.

“It is extremely important to continue,” declared Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, wearing a facemask as he spoke.

The city’s most famous sports event, April’s Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, was forced into submission last week and postponed until October but Engelbrecht-Bresges insisted the racing show had to go on.

Nevertheless it was a surreal meeting at Sha Tin in front of just 307 spectators, made up entirely of owners and guests.

Only the horses were mask-free. Jockeys quickly grabbed protective gear once back in the weighing room. And in the deserted betting halls windows were shuttered. The usually bustling bars were closed.