As different as training in Hyde Park.DAVID David, in the Bible David, d. c.970 B.C., king of ancient Israel (c.1010–970 B.C.), successor of Saul. The Book of First Samuel introduces him as the youngest of eight sons who is anointed king by Samuel to replace Saul, who had been deemed a failure. OUGHTON, who left the quiet Sussex Downs 12 years ago to train in high-pressure Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. , carries with him one overriding impression. "Training in Hong Kong? It's like living in the West End and training in Hyde Park Hyde Park, park, London, England Hyde Park, 615 acres (249 hectares) in Westminster borough, London, England. Once the manor of Hyde, a part of the old Westminster Abbey property, it became a deer park under Henry VIII. ," he said yesterday. Oughton has seen many changes since he first stepped off the plane at the old Kai Tak airport Kai Tak Airport (Traditional Chinese: 啟德機場) was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. , and he knows what Peter Chapple-Hyam Peter Chapple-Hyam (born April 2, 1963 in Leamington Spa) is a horse racing trainer. He trained Dr Devious to win the Epsom Derby in 1992 and repeated the feat with Authorized in 2007. He managed two Group One wins in his first season as a trainer in 1991. will face. "Coming from a training centre like Manton - one of the very best in the world - to Sha Tin
Sha Tin (also spelt Shatin) is an area in the New Territories, in the Hong Kong Special administrative region. is going to be a shock. "There are 25 of us working horses every morning on the same track and that takes a bit of getting used to. You could probably fit all the horses at Sha Tin into Manton and scarcely see them," said Oughton, who has twice won the Hong Kong Derby The Hong Kong Derby is a Hong Kong Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1873. Restricted to horses four-years-old only since 1981, the race is run in mid-March and is the premier event on the domestic racing programme with a purse of HK$16 million (app. US$2 million). and was the man who first took Mick Kinane to Sha Tin. Chapple-Hyam, with experience in the US and Australia, may not find training on the racetrack as big a shock as Oughton initially did. "It took some getting used to," Oughton said. "There were a score of trainers glued to stopwatches. I'd never used one in my life." The biggest boon for Oughton and many expatriate Expatriate An employee who is a U.S. citizen living and working in a foreign country. trainers - and one which will will definitely suit Chapple-Hyam - is that they don't also have to act as businessmen. No worries about feed bills, non-paying owners and generally running the stable as a business proposition. "All you have to worry about are your horses and your winners. It really is a relief - particularly not having to chase for your money," said the trainer. Oughton has stuck the Hong Kong pace extremely well and acknowledges that things have changed quite dramatically since he first arrived. "I bought a horse called San Domenico, who had run second in the Cambridgeshire. He was a good one, and when I had him right he ran second in the Hong Kong Derby and won a couple of good races for me. "But the standard is so good here now that San Domenico, or even last year's second in the Cambridgeshire, wouldn't get a show," he said. The pressures are different, concedes Oughton. In Britain, for a smaller stable, they are normally financial. Not so in Hong Kong. "Getting a regular intake of new horses every season is vital, and it's not easy. In Britain, you have your loyal owners who bring new blood in on a regular basis. "That cannot happen in Hong Kong because of the permit system. One of your owners can't just walk out and buy you a new horse. "Of course, some of your owners do get permits fairly regularly - but it's one side of the sport here which is different and, at times, difficult," he said. "Hong Kong is definitely very different to Britain and it was something of a culture shock when I came here first. But it is unique," he said. |
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