A female jockey blamed for an accident which resulted in a horse having to be put down was described in court yesterday as having been a 'very respected rider' in her brief career.
The issue of the competence of female jockeys came up in a landmark action launched by insurers Lloyd's against the Hong Kong Jockey Club and the estate of female rider Willy Kan Wai-yu.
Kan, who died aged 20 in 1999 as the result of a separate racing accident, had matched expatriate riders in her win figures, testified Christopher Lee, an acting chief stipendiary steward at the time of the May 1998 race at the centre of yesterday's hearing.
Lloyd's is seeking to recoup 3.5 million French francs ($3.6 million) in insurance paid out after a horse owned by tycoon Dickson Poon was put down following the accident. It also wants an indemnification for loss of future earnings amounting to $140,000.
The horse, Harbour Master, suffered a severed tendon in its left foreleg during a feature race at Sha Tin on May 3, 1998. The insurers claim the injury was suffered as the riders left the gate and bunched up while approaching the first bend. Lloyd's says Kan twice caused interference in the field, resulting in a domino effect in which Celestial Fortune's leg clipped Harbour Master's foreleg.
The case is a world first. While claims have arisen between jockeys - based on a duty of care to each other to ride safely - the duty of care has never been extended from the jockey on the track to the owner in the stands.
The Court of First Instance has heard from Lloyd's counsel, Anselmo Reyes, SC, that Harbour Master received the injury when Winning Scene, the mount ridden by Kan, twice created interference with the rest of the field before the first bend.