THE BEAUTY OF DESTINY AND HORSE RACING IN HONG KONG.

For whatever reason or reasons, these days I see horse racing in Hong Kong as a movie- something like a cross between the very underrated “Let It Ride” and “Crazy Rich Asians”. 

Talking about this with some friends in the local film industry and who are very familiar with this equestrian game of skill and chance, they say, “Do it, man! It could even be a Netflix series!” 

Maybe. 

Watching the Hong Kong horse opera that sometimes unfolds to become a soap opera as a movie has to do with the extremely entertaining characters involved- and not only the jockeys and trainers, but the owners and friends of the owners and the thrill of winning plus the well known rumour mill that carries on as it always has with some of the strangest conspiracy theories, all against the backdrop of a city trying to find its mojo again. 

There are so many plots and subplots and constantly changing scenarios. 

For example, known for decades as The King Of The Valley- Happy Valley racecourse- trainer Caspar Fownes just might have to abdicate as there’s now Beauty Destiny, a galloper who seemed to not be much of anything, and very suddenly has become something of a revelation with a string of wins at the city track. 

His FIFTH consecutive win on Wednesday night was nothing short of extraordinary. 

With jockey Andreas Atzeni from Sardinia aboard, Beauty Destiny didn’t just pick up the leading pack, he left them stranded in the smoke rings of flying turf by a horse that has changed his career around with many waiting to see what’s next for the galloper. 

What could his owners Yuki Kong and Patrick Kwok and trainer Frankie Lor be thinking?

What might the other players in the racing game be thinking?

As for jockey Atzeni, with his association this horse,his consistency and talent, he has very quickly stamped himself as a favourite with Hong Kong racing fans as have Brenton Avdulla and Luke Ferraris and fairly new trainers to the city in Mark Newnham and David Eustace. 

This isn’t to say that it’s a case of “in with the new and out with the old”, but instead it’s about creating a different playing field before boredom sets in.

The CEO of the Hong Kong Jockey Club might have one of the most challenging jobs in the city, but he and his team also have an amazing pool of resources to work with. 

What’s important and also exciting is knowing how best to use all this.

It’s saying Vive Le Difference and giving the already unique Hong Kong horse racing’s theatre of excitement, entertainment and experience with a new brand personality, or different brand personalities, through, well, osmosis. 

Some things just cannot be planned. 

As in the film “Field Of Dreams”, there’s very probably a voice saying, “Build it and they will come”- “they” being ripples of invisible energy that translate into what writers cannot write, and which audiences take and turn what they see into what works best for them- and speaks to them in ways that only they know.

Try to explain it or turn this into something of an exact science and the magic is gone. 

It’s not unlike asking the late filmmaker David Lynch who the Log Lady was or asking John Lennon who was the Egg Man and what Bob Dylan was really singing about on Desolation Row.

Some things are best left unsaid and be sustenance for the imagination.

On Sunday at Shatin, there’s the BMW Hong Kong Derby, and very probably the most open Derby in a very long time.

Everyone who follows horse racing will have different opinions about who the winner might be and also different strategies on how to participate and be part of this race. 

This is when everything starts up again.

This is when there will be another date with destiny- especially if The Zac Man shows up and grabs a ride in the big race at the eleventh hour.

Stranger things have happened.

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