'I would never close the door on coming back to ride here. I love the place. But the timing feels good'

Australian jockey Steven King's eight-year Hong Kong odyssey is over following his decision to finish his season on Derby day. 'I've been here on and off for eight years and I've been very successful. It has been absolutely fantastic - I can't think of a negative,' King explained yesterday.

'That I have been here so long says a lot about how I regard the place. I would be one of the longest-serving Australian riders, but eight years is a long time out of a jockey's life. I think there's a time when you are away too long. I'm at that point where I either stay, and finish my career overseas, or I go back.' Derby day is March 17.

King did not seek an extension to his six-month contract and so was not among the Club riders named yesterday by the Jockey Club for the final third of the season, bringing down the curtain on a Hong Kong career of more than 1,300 rides, 95 winners and over $75 million in stakes.

While King is careful with his words, it seems clear between the lines that a lack of the right opportunities has influenced his decision. 'When I first came, there were three Club jockeys and the rest were retained riders. Now there are three retained riders and the rest are Club jockeys. I think that has had a lot to do with how much more competitive it has become getting good rides,' King said.

'I'd ridden 35 Group One winners before I came here but I'm a better rider, more the finished product now. Yet I can still find myself going to the races with just one ride. I think I deserve better than that.'

King emphasised that he had personal reasons for returning to Australia with wife Leanne and his three young sons, Jordan, six, Lachlan, three, and 19-month-old Benjamin. 'I have to think about the lifestyle I want for them,' he said. 'The boys are growing up quickly without really knowing their grandparents. I've had a farm in Victoria for five years and we've virtually never lived there. I'm a family guy and these things are very important to me. I want the kids to have those things in life.'

King believes the different culture in Hong Kong has made him a better jockey. 'You are closer to the individual animal here. One of the pleasures of the job is working with the owners and trainers to get the horse across the line. In Australia you only see owners on raceday,' he said. 'This was the first place I had ever ridden overseas. If you asked me then if I would ever train, I would have laughed. Now I'm not so sure. Having had more experience here with the training side, I would love to go back to Australia now and have a good stable to ride for and have that same kind of relationship. It's a way off yet but the idea of being a trainer one day doesn't seem as impossible as it once did.'