The man who shredded Hong Kong racing’s record books is aiming to help an old ally to a significant milestone at Happy Valley on Wednesday (23 January).
Douglas Whyte spent a hectic Tuesday morning explaining his impending retirement from the saddle but it will be business as usual as he bids to help Francis Lui get the one success he needs to reach 600 winners spread across more than 20 years as a trainer.
Whyte’s arrival in Hong Kong in 1996 coincided with the start of Lui’s training career and the pair have joined forces to good effect on many occasions.
“Francis has been a great supporter of mine and we’ve had a lot of good days,” said the most successful rider in Hong Kong history.
“He’s a quiet guy who does a thorough job and gave me the 500th winner of my Hong career on Members Glory back in 2003. We go back a long way, so it would be great to give him his 600th winner to return the favour.”
Whyte will partner Alpha Hedge for Lui in the Siu Sai Wan Handicap (1650m) and also gets the leg up on stablemate Happy Time in the Son Kon Po Handicap (1200m).
“They’ve both drawn decent gates and go there in good heart,” he said. “Alpha Hedge moves up to 1650m after a good run at Sha Tin, while Happy Time can play up at the gates but he was strong at the line last time and it would mean a lot to get him home for Francis.”
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