Confidential sources of the Hong Kong Jockey Club's security department have claimed world famous jockey Michael Kinane was paid $100 million by a suspected illegal bookmaker. The amazing statement, which left the Irish ace shaking his head in disbelief, was made by security department chief, David Twynham, during the May 31 Licensing Committee hearing attended by Kinane. Details of the hearing, which Kinane flew halfway round the world to attend, have been made public in an authorised biography of the multiple Irish champion who has won virtually all the world's great races.
The book Mick Kinane - Big Race King was published in Britain yesterday and the controversial hearing which resulted in Kinane coming to Hong Kong five months ago has made major news. Twynham, who put most of the questions to Kinane in the one-hour hearing, said their information was that the money was given to the jockey in February 1994. 'I felt like replying that, if I had been paid that sort of money, did they really think I would be sitting there listening to all these questions? Somehow, though, I didn't think that would be an appropriate answer,' Kinane said. It was then established that Kinane had never met the alleged illegal bookmaker or received any money from him.
The chapter on the Licensing Committee hearing clearly reflects Kinane's anger at travelling to Hong Kong and back within the space of two days as the European Classic season was cranking into top gear. Having been advised by retaining trainer David Oughton that there was a hitch in the granting of the licence for this season - it has since been approved and Kinane is due in the middle of next month - the jockey was informed that he would be expected to appear at the Licensing Committee meeting on May 31. Kinane, states author Michael Clower, was livid.
After discussing the matter with Oughton and his Irish retaining trainer, Dermot Weld, Kinane decided to make the daunting trip to clear his name. 'Frankly, the Hong Kong Jockey Club had put a slur on it,' Kinane said.
When last year's Hong Kong Derby-winning jockey was ushered into the Happy Valley inquiry room, he was facing stewards Wong Chung-hin, now chairman of stewards, Alan Li Fook-sum, now deputy chairman, and Andrew K. N. Li. He said: 'I had an uneasy suspicion that the balance was tipped unfairly against me. I felt that two of the three sitting in judgment would not be on my side. Indeed, I suspected that it was they who had instigated the decision to defer my licence application to this hearing. The security department people were definitely looking for something and the line of approach seemed to be aimed at trying to pin something on me.
'They started by going back to 1993 and mentioned all sorts of people I was supposed to have met then. Twynham kept asking if these people had approached me for tips.