Who said Mark Walker wouldn't do as good as Jamie Richards?

[Bill]

13 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

Perhaps that's the case or is it "early crow"?

Those trainer's percentages and terms that you quote support my opinion that he is using HK as a stepping stone.   Build up a war chest and head to OZ. 

Who would really want to live in China 🇨🇳 run Hong Kong for too long let alone raise a family there?

Well keep this bookmarked for 10-15years time to see who is right…training in hk is a license to print money and only the best get a chance to be there.

he has had average second hand horses who he has got a win out of…hasn’t lined up many of his own horses as of yet.

you may think you’re an expert on most things racing but hk racing is one i doubt you are an expert on. 

[Bill]

19 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

Perhaps that's the case or is it "early crow"?

Those trainer's percentages and terms that you quote support my opinion that he is using HK as a stepping stone.   Build up a war chest and head to OZ. 

Who would really want to live in China 🇨🇳 run Hong Kong for too long let alone raise a family there?

Picking most trainers there already have kids, jockeys too…obviously bringing up a family there is no issue!

[Chief Stipe]

27 minutes ago, Bill said:

Picking most trainers there already have kids, jockeys too…obviously bringing up a family there is no issue!

I didn't say it was "an issue".  Just said "why would you want to"?

One of the most polluted cities in the world controlled by an authoritarian draconian Government.  Haven't you been watching the news?

How many of the current Trainers are young and non-asian?

[Chief Stipe]

35 minutes ago, Bill said:

you may think you’re an expert on most things racing but hk racing is one i doubt you are an expert on. 

No I don't but unlike elsewhere I'm free to express my opinions.  Just as you are.  Suggest you try throwing stones at the Comic Dog and see how you get on.

[Bill]

https://asianracingreport.com/richards-stable-to-benefit-from-easter-buys/

[Chief Stipe]

 

Asian Racing Report

Richards stable to benefit from Easter buys

Hong Kong buyers were active at Inglis this week, among them Jamie Richards who is finding his feet in his new sphere after a slow start, and his five Easter purchases signal valuable support from his owners.

 

Jamie Richards' first season training in Hong Kong is continuing to gather momentum. (Photo by HKJC)

 

 

 

Jamie Richards has enjoyed a buoyant few days down in Sydney for the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale. After spending Sunday, the eve of the auction, running his eyes over yearlings at Riverside Stables, he watched with friends in a bar as, back in Hong Kong, Romantic Laos and Alacrity gave him his first Sha Tin double; two days later, he had acquired five exciting prospects destined, he hopes, to one day add to his growing tally of wins.

 

“It was good to celebrate that (double) among friends, and hopefully the next one won’t be too far away,” Richards told Asian Racing Report.

 

The way his stable is performing at present, another two-timer seems likely: from the past two fixtures Richards has had seven runners for three wins, taking his debut season’s running total to 23. That is a smart return given the slow start to his Hong Kong career, and the performance of his Olympic Stables string in recent months appears to have instilled confidence in his owners.

 

Richards – in tandem with agent Andrew Williams – was among 11 Hong Kong buyers that picked up 22 yearlings between them at a total cost of AU$7.28 million (US$4.9 million). That total included five purchased by Asian Bloodstock Services for a combined AU$2.135 million (US$1.4 million), and a trio acquired for the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s international sale at a cost of AU$2.13 million (US$1.4 million).

 

And, as if to emphasise the intent of Hong Kong buyers seeking a quality prospect in and around the middle market, Maurice Koo, a client of Magus Equine’s Willie Leung, pushed his spend to AU$500,000 (US$337,500) for the sale’s one son of the Shadai to Arrowfield shuttler Maurice. That transaction came in the aftermath of Maurice’s Jack D’Or’s Osaka Hai success, which gave the burgeoning stallion his third JRA Group 1 triumph.

 

Jack D'Or, a son of Maurice, makes all in the G1 Osaka Hai. (Photo by JRA)

 

Richards’ spend was AU$1.28 million (US$864,000) for his quintet and he sees his active participation at the high-quality auction as being an important element to establishing his stable as a strong force, allied of course to the kind of relationship-building essential to attracting and keeping Hong Kong owners. He and his partner Danielle Johnson have been busy the past several months forming those connections.

 

“If I don’t go and put myself out there at sales like this and try to increase the quality in my stable, then it’s going to be very hard for me to work my way up the ladder,” Richards noted. “Danielle and myself have been going out and having plenty of lunches and plenty of dinners, and trying to meet as many people as we can. That’s been going really well and thankfully we were given really good support to come down here and try and buy some really nice horses.

 

“I was very fortunate when I was training at Te Akau to go around and spend a lot of time inspecting yearlings, and I believe I’ve worked hard at trying to develop my eye. Andy Williams is a good friend and a good judge, and between the two of us we’re doing our best to try and buy some nice horses for my owners.”

 

Richards’ average spend on his five buys was AU$256,000 (US$172,000), with a top price paid of AU$310,000 (US$209,000) for a Toronado colt from a speedy family, offered by Vinery Stud. His ability to buy within that bracket showed that the yearling sales offer Hong Kong buyers with PPG permits an opportunity to perhaps pick up some untapped quality at a price that fits.

“The Easter Sale is a very strong sale, the top of the market is incredibly competitive with the guys with the money to buy the colt funds and the filly pedigrees, but below that you can buy some nice colts that are going to be good racehorses, by good sires that are good types,” he said.

 

“We just tried to buy a bit of value in that sort of AU$200-350,000 bracket and we believe we’ve bought some nice horses. We got beaten up on some horses but I’m really pleased with what we’ve come away with and I’m very thankful to the owners that have given us the opportunity to come down here and back our judgement.”

 

The New Zealander’s first dip into his pocket was for Lot 19, a colt by the Darley shuttler Too Darn Hot – a star juvenile and two-time G1 winner at three in Europe – out of a High Chaparral mare, a half-sister to the late stallion Northern Meteor and the dam of Smart Missile, both of which are known to Hong Kong owners through their offspring.

 

“That Too Darn Hot horse, okay, he’s by a first season sire, but he was nice and early in the sale, and I love High Chaparral in the pedigree. We bought him to be a nice staying sort of horse and hopefully he might be a Hong Kong Derby sort of horse,” he said.

 

“We’re looking at a mixture of everything. You want to buy sires that have worked in Hong Kong but first and foremost we’re trying to buy nice athletic horses regardless of the sire, there’s obviously sires that don’t work because of the firmness of the ground, but we want athletic horses.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richards, a four-time champion trainer in New Zealand until his relocation to Hong Kong last May, is sending the new purchases to his homeland to be prepared at the family farm before they head to Hong Kong if all goes as hoped.

 

“They’ll all be broken in the next three months, and we’ll give them a bit of time then trial them up,” he said. “We’ll make plans depending on the owners’ permits, as to whether they come up to Hong Kong as PPGs or we need to race them first and qualify them as PPs. It’s a pretty long winded sort of exercise when you’re buying yearlings, but as long as the owners are patient it’s all good and means we’ve got time to work all of that out.

 

“We’re certainly looking forward to the next two years, getting to know these horses and taking them through the system, and it’s nice to have some good quality stock that hopefully is going to ensure the stable’s success in years to come.”

 

The handler, still only 33, is looking at the long game and that was shown in his patient start to the campaign. He had his first Hong Kong runner one month into the season, on October 5 at Happy Valley, and his first winner came one week after that. He had to wait until November 30 for a follow-up, a double at Happy Valley, and by the turn of the year he had just seven wins on the board.

 

Handsome Rebel gives Jamie Richards his first Hong Kong winner on October 12, 2022. (Photo by Lo Chun Kit)

 

But the wins have come more frequently in the past couple of months and Richards says he has learnt a lot in a short time as he has adapted to the Hong Kong way.

 

“The horses gallop two days a week in Hong Kong and that’s usually a Monday and Thursday after the races on Sunday and Wednesday, when you’ve got your entries,” he said. “It’s a pretty routine sort of place, the horses get used to that and they thrive on a bit pf routine.

 

“For us, it’s just about adjusting, like in New Zealand after a horse raced you might send the horse out to the paddock, or you might put them on the water walker for a week, or get them out of the stable for ten days, then run them again in a month. In Hong Kong you don’t have the luxury of doing that; you sort of swim them for a few days, help them get over their run, build them back in towards their next race and really try and keep the horses to a routine. You sort of can’t ease up on them too much because then they get fresh and they get a bit above themselves, so you’ve got to find a happy medium with them.”

 

And he has observed what his peers do with their horses each day, logging what works best.  

 

“By the transparency of the Jockey Club website you can see what everyone is doing,” he said. “I’ve watched that very closely. And, I guess, another part we had to adjust to was how they trial them, they trial them quite hard: in New Zealand if a horse was going to race over 1200 metres you would never trial it over 1200 metres, but that’s something we’ve just had to get used to and get some decent gallops on them before they head off to the races. I feel like I’m starting to get a bit of a handle on it now.”  

 

As well as the Too Darn Hot and the Toronado, Richards and Williams left Inglis with a Savabeel colt from a good New Zealand family, a son of Hellbent from the family of Kermadec, and a colt by The Autumn Sun out of the G1 Galaxy winner Griante.

 

 

Richards seems to be finding his groove but the road ahead will be relentless in its difficulty; he will need young stock like his Inglis Easter buys to make it through the system and succeed in his Asian base. If they do, his stable could be on its way to emerging as a force in the upper reaches of the Hong Kong ranks. 

 

[Chief Stipe]

Interesting article starting off by saying Richards has had a slow start.

Wasn't there for his last two wins at Sha Tin.  As I said earlier he will be doing a lot more managerial/purchasing stuff than he ever did at Te Akau.

[Bill]

3 hours ago, Chief Stipe said:

Interesting article starting off by saying Richards has had a slow start.

Wasn't there for his last two wins at Sha Tin.  As I said earlier he will be doing a lot more managerial/purchasing stuff than he ever did at Te Akau.

A slow start by not having any runners for the first 5-6 weeks of the season. They do close the tracks during the off season for a period of time.

im sure he doesn’t have to be hands on 24/7 when they have an assistant trainer and a system of rank in the stables. Only have to watch the social media of the hkjc on the videos they did of JRs stable

Edited April 5, 2023 by Bill

[Honestjohn]

On 4/3/2023 at 9:28 AM, billy connolly said:

IMO Richards father is/was a better horseman than his son and Stephen Autridge is/was a better horseman than Walker.

The coat maketh the man !

 

Paul's a funny guy,  remember playing pool with him kumara week at the rec.  Great stories mainly around Cj Johnson.  He's good at pool,  but not as good as myself lol.  Great weekend!! 

 

Hj

[Chief Stipe]

13 hours ago, Bill said:

They do close the tracks during the off season for a period of time.

Uh?  Doesn't that apply to ALL the trainers?

[Bill]

2 hours ago, Chief Stipe said:

Uh?  Doesn't that apply to ALL the trainers?

Of couse it does…but obviously wanted to see what others were doing and what not before rushing his horses…classic case and example, J Size. Doesn’t rush his horses at the beginning of the season

[Chief Stipe]

16 hours ago, Bill said:

Of couse it does…but obviously wanted to see what others were doing and what not before rushing his horses…classic case and example, J Size. Doesn’t rush his horses at the beginning of the season

I don't see any evidence of that.  Why watch the opposition when you are a good trainer in your own right?

[Bill]

2 hours ago, Chief Stipe said:

I don't see any evidence of that.  Why watch the opposition when you are a good trainer in your own right?

Go and listen to some of the interviews he’s done…he’s said it himself!

HK is a completely different way of training, not galloped as much with the climate etc

[Special Agent]

For the most part New Zealand is hard to beat as a place to grow up, live and train race horses.  Hong Kong does not appeal to everyone.  Good on anybody who not only gives it a go but, is successful doing so.

I would imagine Jamie would be streets ahead of many earlier international trainers when it comes to customer service and satisfaction.

[Chief Stipe]

Mark Walker breaks the record of most wins in a season.  Still 3 months to go.

[Special Agent]

That is certainly impressive.

[Huey]

20 hours ago, Chief Stipe said:

Mark Walker breaks the record of most wins in a season.  Still 3 months to go.

Is it really that impressive? massive fish in a small pond. Have the best bred horses, the pick of the jockeys & some of the poorest opposition there has ever been in this country.

[Chief Stipe]

32 minutes ago, Huey said:

Is it really that impressive? massive fish in a small pond. Have the best bred horses, the pick of the jockeys & some of the poorest opposition there has ever been in this country.

Still doing it.  Everyone else has the opportunity to do it.

Do you have a historical beef with Te Akau?  

[Huey]

4 hours ago, Chief Stipe said:

 

Do you have a historical beef with Te Akau?  

No why on earth would that have anything to do with my point if view ? 

Having said that I must admit I don't hero worship them like you do.

[Chief Stipe]

36 minutes ago, Huey said:

No why on earth would that have anything to do with my point if view ? 

Having said that I must admit I don't hero worship them like you do.

I don't hero worship Te Akau at all.  A few were quick to say that their strike rate would fall away with the departure of Richards.  That hasn't been the case and Walker is doing very very well.  Seems some are quick to degrade his achievement with little basis to their argument.

[Bill]

26 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

I don't hero worship Te Akau at all.  A few were quick to say that their strike rate would fall away with the departure of Richards.  That hasn't been the case and Walker is doing very very well.  Seems some are quick to degrade his achievement with little basis to their argument.

Another winner with a first starter 3yo who was sent out fav…only runner at the meeting. Flying as the commentators said again

[Chief Stipe]

29 minutes ago, Bill said:

Another winner with a first starter 3yo who was sent out fav…only runner at the meeting. Flying as the commentators said again

Yep a strike rate of 6.  16% wins from starts.  

[Bill]

11 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

Yep a strike rate of 6.  16% wins from starts.  

10% win rate actually.

J Size 12%
PF Yiu 13%

FC LOR/KW LUI 11%
 

[Chief Stipe]

1 minute ago, Bill said:

10% win rate actually.

J Size 12%
PF Yiu 13%

FC LOR/KW LUI 11%
 

Oh sorry I was talking about Mark Walker.

Didn't realise you had switched back to Richards.

[Chief Stipe]

Seems some are applauding every single win Richards have and no congratulations for Mark Walker.