Blog | Hans Ebert

Going down an exciting new rabbit hole with Hong Kong and Hong Kong racing…

The thought bubble started to gain traction with the rather puzzling oddity that preceded the hugely successful Hong Kong Sevens weekend called “Racing with Rugby” where a square peg was seemingly tried to be forced into a round hole. The HKJC’s Champions Day on Sunday at Shatin will prove that when horse racing doesn’t try to be what it never can be, it succeeds on its own terms, whereas strange as it may seem to some, all this could actually offer food for thought to those

Hans Ebert

5 min read

Stupidity has no boundaries, Winfried. Let’s not be naive.

No one had to even mention the appearance of actor and Eighties heartthrob Jason Donovan, but having a staunch Hong Kong Rugby Sevens supporter and friend from New Zealand take a swig of his beer and belch out over lunch,“Whatever this thing that the Hong Kong Jockey Club is talking about better not muck up my Sevens weekend. It’s been doing bloody well on its own!” This brought up the question of sponsorship of the Sevens, and whether the architect of the recent success of t

Hans Ebert

3 min read

THE GARDEN OF HOPE AND HAPPINESS: BECAUSE IT’S TIME.

Firstly, and just to get boring and repetitive, around a couple of decades ago, the then-government’s almost token gweilo mouthpiece-Duncan Pescod- announced to Hong Kong, and I guess, the world, how there would be a “worldwide search” for the “right person” to head up what was something called CreateHK. The search for this very special someone to lead the much anticipated launch of CreateHK through the marshes ended up being someone named Jerry something or another from, I t

Hans Ebert

4 min read

Why Hong Kong racing needs the Brazilian magic man…

I know I’m not alone when I say that at least some of the magic needed to reignite interest and a level of excitement and derring do returned to an averageWednesday nightHappy Valley race meeting last meeting with the reappearance in Hong Kong of the ever popular Brazilian rider Joao Moreira. Here for three months as stable jockey for Caspar Fownes, the Magic Man always brings with him a certain je ne sais quoi to horse racing that few have seen- and FEEL- from anyone else an

Hans Ebert

2 min read

THE BALLAD OF DONCASTER DAY

The weather gods were playing games at Randwick And there were many different points of view So many tipsters and analysts Sounding like a murder of crows Everyone saying something Did they know what was who? Could there actually be too much of a good thing? Is all this more of a hindrance than a help? Don’t know what’s coming or going And who’s gonna give in without even a yelp? That was thebelmontgangster A hot favourite at Caulfield who was only shooting

Hans Ebert

2 min read

THE MARKETING OF HONG KONG: NOT FOR THE FAINTHEARTED.

“So, you’ve gone from being the most affordable port of call for day trippers with no spending power to trying to attract those extremely few high end travellers, but what with? What does Hong Kong have that’s going to get people on a plane and want to come out there when the entire concept of tourism has morphed into something else?” She wasn’t being critical, but being someone I had worked with when in advertising and knowing what Hong Kong was when marketed as “Asia’s wor

Hans Ebert

5 min read

Fitting into the new Hong Kong: It’s being able to read the tea leaves.

There’s much perception versus reality involved, and speaking recently to a young overseas jockey who was considering applying for a license to ride in Hong Kong, I advised her that being part and parcel of Hong Kong racing first requires doing serious due diligence about how the city works and sees itself today and what the government is thinking about based on the financial and business objectives of China. It’s also about knowing exactly where a gambling driven pastime lik

Hans Ebert

4 min read