Opportunity knocked, and Clipperton answered

HONG KONG – The business structure of Hong Kong racing forced jockey Sam Clipperton to act fast to gain the mount on Mr Stunning for Sunday’s Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize at Sha Tin Racecourse.

Through Wednesday afternoon, word circulated through the Hong Kong racing community that Mr Stunning’s jockey Nash Rawiller was under investigation for betting on two horses that he rode and for accepting compensation for providing tips on his mounts. By the end of the afternoon, Rawiller, who ranked third in the jockey standings, had been suspended for 15 months.

Clipperton texted trainer John Size with a friendly reminder of his availability in the $2.04 million Chairman’s Sprint Prize.

“If you find yourself looking for a rider, I don’t have a ride,” Clipperton texted. “Please keep me in mind.”

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An hour later, Size returned the message. Clipperton had the mount. Clipperton said he found out while “having a sweat” in advance of Wednesday’s races at Happy Valley Racecourse.

“It was good news,” Clipperton said. “The thing about John is if he needs you, he’ll get you.

“I heard what happened to Nash. It’s shocking, really.

“We were all taken aback from it. It’s tough circumstances.”

Clipperton, a 24-year-old native of Australia, took a proactive stance to gain the mount out of necessity. Unlike riders in the United States or Europe, jockey do not have agents in Hong Kong. Riders book their own mounts in consultation with trainers, and schedule their own morning workouts.

“You can miss a mount in a minute,” Clipperton said.

This is Clipperton’s second season in Hong Kong after winning 40 races in 2016-17, good enough for fifth-place in the standings. This season, Clipperton is 13th with 16 wins, far behind leader Joao Moreira, who has won 90 races.

The business side of the sport is one of the most significant differences between riding in Hong Kong and when Clipperton was a standout apprentice in Sydney, Australia. While there is racing in Australia on a daily basis, Hong Kong typically has two programs a week.

“It can be mentally tougher,” Clipperton said of Hong Kong. “We have two meetings a week and that’s in addition to track work six or seven days a week.

Like Australia, it’s competitive on the track in Hong Kong. [In Australia], it’s not as competitive off the track.”

Clipperton will ride Mr Stunning for the first time on Sunday. Mr Stunning won the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint against an international field in December and will try to give Clipperton his first group stakes win the season, which began in September.

“He’s got the best turn of foot in the race,” Clipperton said. “I’m very glad for the opportunity.

“You think you have a dry spell and the next thing you have a ride on the best sprinter in Hong Kong.”