Declan McDonogh excited by opportunity to race in Hong Kong
The experienced jockey has his first rides at Sha Tin this weekend
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Declan McDonogh is looking forward to his eastern odyssey
It’s a real honour to represent Irish racing over there
Jockey Declan McDonogh is excited by the opportunity to race in Hong Kong over the next six weeks and represent Irish racing on the Asian continent, writes Phil Campbell.
The flat specialist, who rode his first winner in 1995 and was Champion Jockey in 2006, was offered the chance by the Hong Kong Jockey Club last week to travel to the far east after a series of rider injuries.
The 45-year-old, who flies out on Wednesday morning and already has four rides booked for Sunday, said: “It’s the pinnacle, really. To be asked, it’s a real honour to represent Irish racing over there [Hong Kong].
“Hopefully it’ll go well. It’s a very tough jockey colony. Six weeks probably doesn’t give you enough time to crack into it, but we’ll give it a good shot and do the best with the opportunities that we get.
“I’m just looking forward to it. It’s a new challenge and I only miss three weekends here in Ireland so that’s not too bad either. Hopefully we get on well over there. I’m not putting big pressure on myself; I’m just going to go out and enjoy it.
“Opportunities are quite hard to come by over there. Sometimes you don’t hit the ground running and sometimes you do.
“You need a bit of luck, and an early winner would be great, but it’s never guaranteed, so let’s see what I can do with the opportunities I get.”
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McDonogh explained that he was ‘delighted and honoured’ and travels with the full support of his backers in Ireland, including Joseph O’Brien, who helped him make the decision to go.
He continued: “I’ve always wanted to go and ride in Hong Kong, but I think when my main supporters here [in Ireland] were telling me that
‘I’ve got to do it’ then that’s a big boost, it boosts your confidence. That made it easier to say ‘okay, I’ll go and give it a try’.”
The Meath man spoke of his appreciation to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for making the arrangements for his six-week stint and hoped for some success over there.
He added: “It’s always nice to meet new people and some success along the way would be great but I’ve been in the game long enough to know how difficult it is, especially in Hong Kong, to break into it in just six weeks.”
This is not McDonogh’s first overseas venture, and the experienced campaigner can call on previous rides in Australia, Macau, Singapore and Japan to help him combat any contrasts he may encounter.
“It’s a big difference to Ireland,” he said. “It’s more based on the Asian scene. Horses are trained to do a lot more gate practice than here.
“There’s a lot of emphasis on speed and I suppose there’s not that many long-distance races over there.
“It’s a lot different to British and Irish racing but I think because I’ve raced in Australia, Singapore, Macau and Japan, I have an idea of how it might work.”