Club wises up to the benefits of taking a more forgiving stance
The return of Eric Saint-Martin to his rightful place amongst the outstanding performers in the Hong Kong jockeys' room last weekend is another example of the Jockey Club's mellowed policies on licensing paying off.
When Saint-Martin took his family and fled Hong Kong with little notice amidst Sars, it was thought by most that it would be the end of the brilliant Frenchman's association with racing here.
After all, it had been less than a year before that he had been warned to change his attitude in his dealings with the club and officialdom and this episode did not exactly seem to be in keeping with the changes requested.
For all his unquestioned talent, there were those within the Jockey Club who would have felt Saint-Martin was more trouble than he was worth. While Saint-Martin has returned to Hong Kong as a retained rider and not a club jockey as before, the club still has the right to refuse his licensing - something we noted here recently had happened unofficially with an Australian rider mooted as a possibility to be retained. And once upon a time, that refusal might well have been the result of Saint-Martin's name being put up for a retainer.
But the club is in a more enlightened place now and Saint-Martin and others who may have had their passports stamped 'never to return' at some stage in their career are back adding to the excitement of racing here. Andrasch Starke, Olivier Doleuze and most recently Daryll Holland have been able to return with any past misdeeds left where they should be and these riders are proving their worth once more in this difficult and competitive environment where, as we see every year, it is not so easy for a jockey to make a viable and legitimate place for himself.
With the right kind of jockey proving tough to find, the Jockey Club have shown themselves to be so much wiser for taking a more forgiving view and allowing owners and trainers to call on riders who have been popular and successful in Hong Kong before.
