The biggest shock at Sha Tin on Saturday was not the defeat of Horse of the Year Mr Vitality in the Centenary Cup but the entirely unexpected resignation of a prominent Jockey Club security department official, Bob Brewer.
Hints that all might not have been well with Mr Vitality abounded and, as trainer Ivan Allan pointed out before and after the event, the champion had missed work and been dogged with a virus.
All was not entirely well with Mr Vitality and no one doubts that his day in the sun will surely come again and, almost certainly, in the not too distant future. Brewer's decision to quit just five days after signing a fresh contract adds further fuel to the strongly held belief that all is far from well within the management structure of the Jockey Club and, unlike Mr Vitality, there are no hopeful signs that things are going to get better quickly. Brewer is a respected official who has frequent dealings with the racing media.
It is testimony to his ability and skill that he manages to satisfy his employers and keep a prickly racing press largely happy. Diplomacy is his strong suit and he was the diplomat to the end on Saturday, merely stating that, while the timing may have been slightly unfortunate, he had made the decision for personal reasons. But he did stress that his departure had nothing to do with the impending handover and, as a veteran of 20 years in Hong Kong, would have no hesitation in returning to suitable employment.
Brewer's totally unexpected departure highlights, whether he likes it or not, the too well-founded stories of total disenchantment within the middle and higher echelon management ranks of the Jockey Club. He is not the first non-racing official to quit recently and he will not be the last. And it should be stressed that frustration and dissatisfaction are by no means restricted to a coterie of expatriate officials. If anything, the reverse is true and it is a number of higher level local officials who are most noticeably upset.
It is not, of course, co-incidental that the resignations and reports of discontent come towards the end of the first year in office of the chief executive of the Jockey Club, Lawrence Wong. His is the hand on the helm and it can be said without fear of contradiction that, to continue in seafaring terminology, he is not running a happy ship. Desertions will continue and the Jockey Club run an ever-increasing risk of losing people like Brewer who really do matter and do contribute to the ultimate well-being of the club and the sport.