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

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

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

“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

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

I was too young to understand the public outpouring of shock and tremendous sadness when John F Kennedy Jr was assassinated, and only felt something to what had happened listening to my parents and my uncle and aunties talk and talk about what had happened in Dallas. These were the times of black and white television and newspapers and they believed what they were told by a very limited media. When Robert Kennedy was fatally shot, I was a few years older and saw the events un

If there can be an American Dream, though this might be a bit fuzzy these days, why can’t there be a Hong Kong dream- or if there is one, what is it? To win the Mark Six lottery? To have all the money you’d ever need? And then what? Or are we Hongkongers scared to dream? Or don’t we know HOW to dream as a COMMUNITY? Is our one dream actually individual dreams, and though there’s nothing wrong with this, wouldn’t a Hong Kong Dream that we could dream together be stronger? Dr M

Once upon a wonton, the television weather man in Hong Kong was an animated character named Freddy who would look up at the sky and either smile, put on his shades and happily walk off frame whistling or when the weather was getting cooler, his teeth would chatter and he would say, “It’s faaaaaaaaaaliiiiiiiiing!”. If Freddy was still around today, he could be used to use this line to describe the standards of everything in Hong Kong, especially creativity though it must be sa

Vincent CY Ho is  so much more  than just about  horse racing  He’s genuine and kind  He cares about  those around him  And in the darkness  he always manages to shine And flashes his  trademark winning smile When Vincent Ho wins We aIl win Because he lifts us up  with inspiration  He’s been through the wars He’s fought off negativity  By picking himself up  And embracing positivity Vincent Ho Chak-Yiu might not have won the Hong Kong Derby at Shatin on Sunday, and if not inv

Though good to read about its “strategic shift aimed at diversifying visitor demographics”, one wonders why it took the Hong Kong Tourism Board this long to realise that budget tour groups, mainly from China, and without the financial means for even an overnight stay, bring nothing to the city except for the now tedious narrative hammered out by the local media that there’s been a “surge in tourism”? Tourism without spending power is Oliver Twisted and worth diddly squat. It

Boredom with things around me and weather changes makes one either get a little loopy, or maybe it’s just knowing intuitively that it’s time to break with tradition and have a new reality wash over you, but last night, I dined at home by myself and on the leftovers of something I had eaten for lunch- fabulous steamed garoupa with peppercorns and something else in the sauce that was spicy to give it some extra kick and flavour. I was going to photograph the dish and post it so

First things first: When Joao Moreira won the 2012 Longines International Jockeys Championship, this was the first time many of us in Hong Kong had ever seen the person known as “the magic man” ride though he was champion jockey in neighbouring Singapore. Never had many of us who are not “horsey” people seen a rider so in harmony with a horse and so aerodynamically born to ride. It really was wonderful to watch something almost balletic. I remember after the races that night,

Always having strong links to Hong Kong and having done my part to enhance quite a few different things in the city, as a writer, I enjoy shining a light on those uplifting moments whether it be the successes of champion Hong Kong born swimmer Siobhan Haughey, the world famous HK Rugby Sevens or those achievements in horse racing that might travel under the radar or get lost in the bouillabaisse of bollocks that way too often raises their heads. When writing about the politic

What no one knew at the time, including the person I was living with at the time was an idea racing through my head when being shown the beer garden at Happy Valley racecourse and which I turned into the Happy Wednesday brand for the Hong Kong Jockey Club.  Some things are best kept in one’s hip pocket and being taught when in advertising that timing is everything. With the Hong Kong I once knew and where I met and married the American Wrangler girl and our daughter was born

A former colleague in advertising revisiting Hong Kong after over twenty years was mentioning just how much the city- and everything in it- has changed, and not for the better either. Having been invited to Riyadh for the running of the Saudi Cup and watching Japan’s Forever Young win and meeting the team behind this equine superstar, we talked about the horse racing in Hong Kong, which he had seen up close and personal last Thursday at the bang a gong Chinese New Year’s Day

Gawd knows, we need Feel Good stories and we got it on Saturday at Riyadh when Japan’s wonderful Forever Young dish ran away with the spoon and the Saudi Cup for the second consecutive year. Ridden by Ryusei Sakai and trained by the almost magical Yoshito Yahagi, the win was expected, but no one gets tired of fairytales no matter how old and cynical one gets. Before continuing, a bit of history, especially as we have entered the Lunar New Year of the Horse… My favourite horse

What can one say about the dulcet tones and The Online Voice of Australian racing that is Gareth Hall? Entertaining, definitely, and like a dog with a bone, when after a story where he might sniff a bet, he becomes as hard working and committed as James Brown about gettin’ it on up and getting on it. Particularly arresting is when he basically salivates whenever interviewing a jockey or trainer for even a morsel of what might be considered a tip, something he turned into a fi

“Billionaires' and Royalist clubs trying to attract the mass market... interesting”. The problem is that it’s 2026 and there’s still the same old problem, and instead of this problem going away, there are actually more problems, because those given the reins to solve problems, perhaps don’t wish to as opposed to not knowing what to do next. Why? Because maybe actually solving problems might make those who have been leading the band like Guy Lombardo did might feel that they c

I’m writing this early in the morning with the Beatles playing in the background, listening to some of their earliest originals and wondering how they wrote and produced all the music that they did and swept many of us up in a groundswell of awe and joy while also asking us why we couldn’t write a song like “Girl” or “I’ll Follow The Sun” or the very much overlooked “I’ll Be Back” or, well, just something that came even close to what they were doing before Strawberry Fields F

As it’s seemingly become The Word Of The Day, why not use “pivot” and ask whether the Hong Kong Jockey Club is pivoting towards far more emphasis and effort in the promotion and marketing of equestrian events? With the Lunar New Year of the Horse around the corner and Longines very much involved in horses and time keeping in the sport that goes back to 1869 and the first pocket watch while investing in a more affluent and sophisticated audience that started with the advertisi