Saturday sees the start of the new Hong Kong racing season. Though the break was around two months, to the racing mad city, it was more like two years and many going through cold turkey wanting another new fix.
Racing really is The Greatest Show In Town and should be billed and marketed and promoted in this way in a city desperately in need of a makeover and able to live up to the boast of being in Asia’s World City. Racing is a very underrated USP.
As for the racing this new season, what can be expected? Well, Zac Purton and Brett Prebble will try to dethrone Douglas Whyte as Hong Komg’s champion jockey- and both will fail.
Never one to be caught on the back foot, the tremendously successfully horseman and astute judge and PR man has working overtime to make up for some new rule that will mean him having to forego some rides for John Size. Not to worry. By the end of last season, Whyte was picking up rides from Tony Cruz and John Moore. On Saturday, he has managed to get on the promising Amber Sky trained by Ricky Yiu. Gawd, when was the last time, he rode for Yiu? Four years ago? The PR Machine must have been working on Overload and overtime.
Apart from Whyte, watch for The Zac Attack to forge a stronger partnership with the powerful Dennis Yip stable and far less rides from this yard going to Brett Prebble. That partnership seems to have run its course. Prebble, meanwhile, will continue doing more and more and Moore and Moore riding for John Moore.
Did Prebble “beg” to be the trainer’s stable jockey or was it the training doing the “begging”? Anyone care? With James McDonald having moved to Sydney for the next few years, who’s Moore gonna call? Ghostbusters? Danny Nikolic? Mitch Beadman? Fergus Gallagher? Gary Moore? Frankie Dettori? Spiderman? Bill Nader? Well, you get the drift…
Elsewhere, Tony Cruz will remain loyal to Matthew Chadwick and pick and choose from the other riders around. Caspar Fownes, who we’re tipping to have a very good season, will, as always turn to Prebble for the bulk of the riding along with stable apprentice Vincent Ho.
Will Maxime Guyon be back for another short stint? We’re tipping not. Mikhael Barzalona? Perhaps. Umberto Ravioli? Definitely which will send a shiver of excitement up the ying yangs of a few Chinese glamours we know.
The return of Gerard Mosse and his mighty sword? Gawd knows if this happen this season, but we do predict that the below predictions just could happen.
1] Alvin Ng rides for two whole weeks without a suspension. As a personal Thank You for this remarkable feat for Ng who landed 22 suspensions last season, Chief Stipe- Kim “Eliot Ness” Kelly- insists that Alvin “The Chipmunk” takes a one month holiday and get re-charged.
2] Andy Leung, the Dorian Grey of Hong Kong racing and the youngest oldest trainer in town known for his enigmatic training techniques and flamboyant jackets tries to get into the paddock in a Lady Gaga inspired meat dress and is drop-kicked by security guards.
Andy Leung goes Go Ga.
3] Brett Prebble has to pass six official barrier tests until he’s allowed to ride again.
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4] Ambitious Dragon gets fed up waiting for a jockey to ride him, gets fed up of doing nothing and so packs up and leaves the yard of Tony “Millie” Millard after months of simply being pissed off with the whole world.
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