HONG KONG racing stands on the brink of a new year numerically short of at least two quality overseas riders as the result of one voluntary defection and one enforced departure.
The season began with American Randy Romero retained by Gary Ng Ting-keung and the excellent Australian, Darren Beadman, with Neville Begg. This maintained the ratio that had existed for a couple of seasons between expatriate and local riders.
As far as overseas riders were concerned, it was self-evidently the number that the Jockey Club deemed necessary to licence in order to maintain the high standards attained in recent seasons.
While Romero, despite his international reputation and Breeders' Cup triumphs, never quite hit it off nor made any real impact with punters, Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Beadman was a smash hit, until his recent lamentable transgression.
Considering the quality of jockeys who left these shores at the end of last season - Gerald Mosse, Declan Murphy and Brent Thomson - it is little wonder that a senior Jockey Club official said last week that, like wine, this was not a vintage year.
Director of Racing Philip Johnson says that the Jockey Club is keeping the present situation under observation but there are no immediate plans to bring in another overseas rider, despite the shortfall.