It’s going to be a very tough task for the Mauritian Magician Karis Teetan to ride three winners tonight.
This is what he needs to do to overhaul and take Alexis Badel’s position as one of the four riders representing Hong Kong at the upcoming International Jockeys Championship next month. Of course, as Yoda would say, Impossible is nothing.
Being the fierce competitor that he is and with even more challenging daddy duties ahead, the very popular rider will no doubt be singing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” to himself. We wish nothing but the best in all his endeavours along with those of Alexis Badel.
Alexis Badel is a success story that’s still not fully appreciated or understood by many. He’s consistently riding winners and is in demand by almost every stable.
What’s most impressive is how seamlessly he has settled into Hong Kong racing.
Whereas so many others have found it tough to break into what is, more often than not, a quirky racing jurisdiction rather than a competitive one, the Frenchman shows all the signs of being a stayer- IF he wants to stay the distance.
These days, more and more even longtime residents are leaving these shores. Plus with little or no international tourism, the one-time cosmopolitan and vibrant vibe of Hong Kong is pretty much MIA.
Horse racing carries on, but until this city is finally unshackled from so many restrictions on having fun, and somehow becomes a tourist destination again, we’re pretty much surviving in a Deliveroo driven world watching Adam Sandler reruns and thinking these formulaic cornballs to be funny.
Unless one has grown up, down and sideways in Hong Kong and made it here without a silver spoon up their backsides, they will not understand just how this city came to rock the casbah and the world in the Eighties, Nineties and early 2000s.
These were times when strong friendships were formed. There were strong and supportive women who some of us married- and not because they were a designer brand handbag from the five and dime.
There were brilliant restaurants and every type of club imaginable and with everything and everyone needed to pack out these pleasure domes.
If this wasn’t enough, a helicopter ride to Macau for dinner and a walk through the Mandarin Bar after midnight was a distinct possibility and Tuesday turned to Friday.
The thing is this: People- fun loving people-make any city. They give it their DNA whether it be London, New York, Copenhagen or Ibiza.
Without good people needing better people, it’s either living in fear and in a Blade Runner and Orwellian society or being part of a Facebook scrapbook family reliving the past with “Traces” by Classic 1V playing in the background.
Tonight, there’s an eight race card at Happy Valley. For those interested enough to watch these races, this will either be while channel surfing on television or streaming them ‘live’ while having dinner and if one’s partner is au fait with these table manners.
Looking at the card, but with zero interest in the first few races, Joao Moreira looks to have the chance to ride 3-4 winners.
It’s a well-known fact that his usual flair and magic somehow disappear at the city track. Zac Purton is certain to chip in with at least a winner and that that man Alexis Badel seals his position for the Hong Kong International Jockey Championship.
Personally, far more important than who wins what and how much is where my next port of call might be. There aren’t a helluva lot of choices.
Better yet is to see Hong Kong once again rise like a Phoenix from the ashes and be the multi dimensional city it once was with talented entrepreneurs young enough to make good things happen.
Where instead of being ruled and drooled by money when there’s nothing worth spending it on, Hong Kong stops being the pathetic superficial plastic fantastic bubble it often is today.
Bubbles are soulless. They burst and disappear.
Remember Bubbles, Michael Jackson’s chimpanzee bestie?
