Aldo for Hong Kong – as Lyle ships out

Domeyer had a very successful stint in the racing-mad city last year – riding 13 winners in a brief period at the end of the last season, then another four at the start of the new term – but returned home to Cape Town when his partner gave birth.

On the other side of the coin, two-time South African champion jockey Lyle Hewitson is quitting Hong Kong next month after a disappointing spell there.

Hewitson took 140 rides to land his first winner and has notched just three for the season. He did not apply for an extension to his expiring Hong Kong licence and will decamp to Japan for a short-contract spell.

The South China Morning Post newspaper reports that Hewitson won many admirers for his professional attitude and perseverance in a fiercely competitive racing environment that is rife with favouritism and superstition.

Hewitson’s experience mirrored that of another brilliant young South African rider, Callan Murray, who suffered injury and suspension at the start of his Hong Kong excursion and struggled to land good rides thereafter.

Other accomplished South African jockeys have also been stung by the fickleness and vagaries of Hong Kong racing, while yet others have struck gold – such as Douglas Whyte, Karis Teetan, Anthony Delpech, Felix Coetzee and Basil Marcus.

Grant van Niekerk is the latest South African to have caught the Hong Kong popularity wave. He currently lies in an admirable fifth spot on the jockey championship log with 29 wins from 241 rides – a 12% strike rate.

Brazilian superstar Joao Moreira tops the table with 74 from 369 rides and a win rate of 20%, with reigning champion Zac Purton of Australia second on 64 from 339 and 19%.

The race meeting at Happy Valley on Wednesday this week had a total attendance of 122, thanks to anti-corona virus lockout measures that allowed only jockeys, trainers, essential officials and some owners through the gates. The same meeting in 2019 drew 19,000 people.

Pundits are wondering if the lack of crowds might be having an effect on horses’ performances, with very fast times being recorded before empty grandstands – including the fastest 1000m ever run at the iconic city track. Purton steered home John Moore-strained Stronger in 56.11 seconds, smashing the previous record, set in November, by 0.14 seconds.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club also reported on Friday that four-time Brazilian champion Vagner Borges, who rode briefly in Hong Kong in 2019, had been granted a new licence alongside Domeyer.

Australian Blake Shinn and Irishman Neil Callen have had their expiring licences extended, but French duo Alexis Badal and Tony Piccone are heading back to Europe for the summer season there.

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