Elliott returns to familiar territory
'There are probably a lot more buildings here now,' says Hong Kong-raised jockey on his first trip back to the city
Happy Valley was a flood of memories yesterday as Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Stewart Elliott took a trip back to his Hong Kong childhood.
'That's where I used to walk home through the cemetery,' he reminisced during a walk around the racecourse where he will play a hand tonight representing the United States in the International Jockeys' Challenge. 'And up the top there - I think that was where we lived. Somewhere up there - Shiu Fai Terrace it was.'
Much has changed in Happy Valley since Elliott's father, Dennis, and his uncle, Bobby Elliott, rode there in the early days of professional racing when the track was the only venue in town and young Stewart attended the nearby Island School.
'It's been a long time and I haven't been back here since. I've forgotten a lot of it, but one thing that does strike me is there are probably a lot more buildings here now,' Elliott smiled. 'I remember there were steps up the mountain and you could walk up there away from the city, like a walk out in the woods in the States, I guess.'
His father won 40 races during six different seasons from 1971-72 until 1976-77, including the Chinese Recreation Club Cup, Hong Kong Club Cup and Wayfoong Centenary Bowl, while uncle Bobby rode 41 winners during five different terms during the same period, including the Chinese Recreation Club Cup, and finished runner-up in the first jockeys' championship of the professional era in the 1971-72 season.
Elliott said both men were training these days, his uncle after a stint as assistant to high-profile English trainer Mark Johnston, while 'Dad has a farm in Florida and he buys and sells young horses.
'I think they came here then and rode under contract to a particular stable - I remember my father rode a lot for an Australian, Bob Burns - and they made a good living,' Elliott said. 'But I do recall there wasn't a lot of racing and they had plenty of free time. Dad had a boat and we would take it out, go water skiing or go and camp out on the islands. It was a lot of fun.'
As a 39-year-old jockey, Elliott might have thought his chance to stand in the limelight had been and gone, but that was until Smarty Jones came along and swept up the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes this year for the Pennsylvania-based rider and thrust him into the minds of a nation.
'It was a life-changing event,' Elliott said. 'I'd had some good horses and good wins but hadn't even had a ride in a Kentucky Derby or a Preakness until Smarty Jones came along.
'It opened a lot of doors for me - I'm sure I wouldn't be here in Hong Kong if it wasn't for Smarty Jones - and even now I'm getting chances to ride more good horses.
'For instance, I'm riding a horse called Rockport Harbour now who has won four out of four and he really looks a Derby horse for next May. That would be something, to win it again.'
For tonight, though, Elliott is pleased to know he is not without a chance to claim the Jockeys' Championship at the course that struck such a chord: 'I'll never forget the great crowds they used to get to racing here. They'd hang out the red flag when the track couldn't fit any more people in. I think it's kinda neat to be back.'
