It was a very busy April 1st in Hong Kong for SCMP racing reporter Sam Agars, pictured below.
First came the late breaking news on Friday afternoon that- and as he has every right to demand it- unless superstar Jockey Zac Purton had the external physiotherapy treatment he believe was needed to fix the injuries he’s been carrying for months on end, he was going to immediately call it quits for the season. He simply couldn’t continue to ride.
This would have meant giving up his full book of rides on the weekend. You can imagine how the Hong Kong Jockey Club must have reacted to this news.
The speed and inaccurate way in which news travels these days, in Australia and where some of us are currently chillin’ with Dylan, some were mentioning that the champion jockey was returning to Sydney- immediately- after having had enough of being a Hong Kong racing Bubble Boy. Something had popped the zit.
Others thought the news was an April Fools Day joke whereas most were wondering if Nature Strip could handle a Heavy 10 track and win the TJ Smith Stakes at Randwick the next day.
Me, I was wondering how Mr Hives at the Crown Metropol made the best chicken satay ever tasted and which no master chef including the wonderful Sarah Todd could make. Maybe she could. But back to the Zac Attack...and bubbles.
An hour later came something of a retraction or U-turn: Zac The Influencer and the Hong Kong Jockey Club had smoked a peace pipe and the Club’s Man For All Reasons- Andrew Harding- was wheeled out to say that the Club had agreed to Zac seeing an external specialist.
This was a good decision, Sherlock. It’s certainly better than the rider having to keep pushing himself through the pain threshold like he has been doing after suffering a horror fall involving three other jockeys in December’s Hong Kong Sprint.
The one proviso to this change in policy was that someone from the Club accompany the jockey along with a Covid home testing kit. This was to ensure that the new physio or his staff returned a negative result. Something like that. It was more bubbly stuff still going on and on and on and which has reached a critical path.
Life is for living and not following orders no matter how good a reason it might be from one perspective whereas on the other side there is suffering from shrinkage and silently fighting mental health issues- including those families involved and especially with young children. For Zac Purton, he must already be feeling better to know he’s going to get the treatment he’s always wanted. After all, no amount of money in the world can buy good health and peace of mind. The $64,000 question is how and why all this was allowed to plod along and get this far and into the public domain without being discussed like adults behind closed doors. Maybe it had and hit an impasse? The Hong Kong Jockey Club prides itself on having a world class team of physios on call at huge costs all the time for all jockeys and who have worked with elite athletes from various sports.
Guess none worked for Zac and only he would know what would heal his body. Anyway, here’s hoping that all’s well that ends well and that all the events of April 1, 2022 have finally brought closure to something that could have been avoided. It has to be said in all honesty that Hong Kong racing is not exactly in tip top shape despite all the protective bubbles. The quality just isn’t there anymore. Anyone who watched the world class racing at Randwick on Saturday would agree.
As for this “racing bubble”, surely it’s run its course? It’s looking as silly as the government forcing all restaurants etc to batten the hatches after 6pm. Why after 6pm? Is this when the big bad Covid bogeyman comes out to play?
Similarly, are we to believe that the “racing bubble” protects every person in the horse racing community from being Covid free? Of course not.
Look at the trainers and jockeys who have tested positive. So why continue with this bouncing bubble? There’s nothing wrong in changing strategies, and relooking at everything. It’s not going to be seen as a mistake, but something needed to learn to live with whatever it is that’s going around.
Even Dr Anthony Fauci is like a dithering yo-yo these days and certainly not following his daily narrative of what was then known as the Wuhan virus.
Coming to grips with this problem cannot be done how the Hong Kong government is managing everything, which is through fear, control and making prisoners and zombies of people.
This is what’s causing more and more people to leave the city. There’s been an exodus.
Jockey Daniel Moor tried the best he could to cope, but without his family with him, he returned last week to Australia after just a couple of months in Hong Kong.
This would never ever have happened a couple of years ago where the world seemingly wanted to live and work in Hong Kong racing. There are very few takers these days.
What’s left is a dwindling and ageing population. This is why Hong Kong is no longer the magnet it once was for tourism. It has no soul. There’s zero empathy. It’s Dorothy’s friend who was the Tin Man.
As for the elitist sounding “racing bubble”, it might have helped placate the government to keep racing going, which was something of a diversion from all the negativity for the horsey people.
Other than that and with the “thrill” of “Riding High Together” now a tepid television product that’s a hit or miss affair, this “racing bubble” is way past its Use By date.
It’s meaningless to the people of Hong Kong who are suffering in very many different ways. If anything, mention of the “racing bubble” to the racing community affected by this is only causing a helluva lot of stress, anger, suspicion and a dangerous divisiveness.
Personally speaking, there should be a One Team strategy in place and where the racing community comes together to work towards healing and trying to make Humpty Dumpty Hong Kong whole again.
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