(Source: LOL Snaps)
Together with our Mothership and often it can be a real mutha of a ship that is the SS Racingb*tch, we asked racing fans to name their choices for the Top Ten Jockeys in the world- not Oz, not the UK, not Hong Kong- but the world.
(Source: Tumblr)
The answers were varied, the answers went off down long and winding roads, but here’s the Top Whatever- it just could not be whittled down to ten- in no particular order of importance.
Olivier Peslier
(Source: Zimbio)
Christopher Lemaire
(Source: The Age)
Gerard Mosse
(Source: Punters Paradise)
Hugh Bowman
(Source: Herald Sun)
Douglas Whyte
(Source: The Punters Forum)
Craig Williams
(Source: Daily Telegraph)
Yasunari Iwata
(Source: Zimbio)
Maxime Guyon
(Source: Giampaolovimercati)
Zac Purton
(Source: SCMP)
Ryan Moore
(Source: Racing Post)
Joao Moreira
(Source: Punters Paradise)
Christophe Soumillon
(Source: British Champions Series)
Joel Rosario
(Source: Hispanically Speaking News)
Michael Rodd
(Source: Punters Paradise)
From here, we were reminded of the greats who have ridden in Hong Kong and now are retired or,sadly, no long with us.
Jeez, this Who’s Who of racing has the makings of a movie- kinda like The Magnificent Seven meets Ocean 11 and The Guns Of Navarone.
(Source: Wikia)
Geoff Lane
(Source: Brisbane Racing)
Brent Thomson
(Source: The Age)
Michael Kinane
(Source: Telegraph)
Felix Coetzee
(Source: Summer Hill)
Kieren Fallon
(Source: Guardian)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC7avcBvNUE
Pat Eddery
(Source: Telegraph)
Bill Hartack
(Source: Paulick Report)
Gary Stevens
(Source: Turner)
Brian Taylor
(Source: Betfair)
Lester Piggott
(Source: Guardian)
Philippe Paquet
(Source: Racing World)
Johnny Roe
(Source: Daily Mail)
Tony Cruz
(Source: HKJC)
Darren Beadman
(Source: SMH)
To this list add Glen Boss, Chris Munce, Kevin Moses, The Gauch, Steven King, Danny Nikolic, Damien Oliver, Michael Rodd, of course, the ubiquitous Gary Moore, David Brosnan, racing’s answer to the Eveready Battery bunny that is Robert Thompson, the great Bart Leisher, the first South African jock to ride in Hong Kong, the UK’s Daryl Holland and Philip Robinson, Danny Brereton, the very underrated Nigel Tiley, Eric Saint Martin who could have been anything except his old man- the legendary Yves Saint Martin, below, and too many others to mention.
(Source: HKJC)
(Source: Jockey Site)
Wait: That would be a cop out so we’ll mention South African great Basil Marcus who ruled the riding ranks for so long and has always reminded us of Craig Williams, another who cut his teeth riding here.
SEPARATED AT BIRTH?
(Source: Summer Hill)
(Source: Punters Paradise)
Then there were the trainers- George Moore, Jerry Ng Chi-lam, Brian Kan, Ivan Allan and, er, Patrick Biancone aka The King Cobra Man who “re-created” himself in the States as the Medicine Man of racing and The Horse Whisperer in reverse.
He and his Miss Hong Kong wife Elaine Sung at that time were just too much to bear for us simple folk. It was all just too Pepe Le Peu and tres pretentiousness.
(Source: Discuss)
On the periphery were the computer syndicates- a few very successful, the others quickly hitting the DELETE buttons, the mysterious Michael Sebastian who left the world just as mysteriously,and lawyer Gary Allerdice who was found shot to death in Vladivostok together with his Russian girlfriend who he was trying to buy out from the clutches of the mafia.
There were the racing television personalities Bill Tung-biu, Parkey and Wadey, Bob Saunders aka Captain Midnight, Ken Martinus, The Jockey, Mocambo, The Bull And Bear, the Dickens Bar, The Shanghai Syndicate, Albert Yeung, footballers Derek Currie and Walter Gerrard and the looniest CEO the HKJC has ever hired- Larry Wong- who always wore shirts that seemed to be suffocating him. They must have been the Crocodile brand.
(Source: HKJC)
There might be a million stories in The Naked City, but racing and Hong Kong hold over twenty million stories, most of which will never ever be whispered even in private.
Were those the good old days? No, today are the good old days though the past had its moments.
But thinking back, they were pretty dark days wrapped in pretty colored packaging with some of the greatest names in racing riding here alongside an undercurrent of danger.
Quite a few were lucky to find the right keys to leave this Hotel California while staring at those mirrors on the ceiling and with the pink champagne still on ice.
Whatever it was, it sure makes for a great film script that Martin Scorsese or Quentin Tarantino could get their teeth into together with Wong kar-wai or Stephen Chau.
(Source: On Violence)
#RyanMoore #JohnnyRoe #JoelRosario #OlivierPeslier #BillHartack #ChristopherLemaire #darrenbeadman #craigwilliams #zaCPURTON #GeoffLane #DouglasWhyte #YasunariIwata #HughBowman #ChristopheSoumillon #GaryStevens #LesterPiggott #BrentThomson #JOAOMOREIRA #tonycruz #MaximeGuyon #BrianTaylor #PhilippePaquet #MichaelKinane #MichaelRodd #PatEddery #KierenFallon #gerardmosse
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