Natural-born winner

Champion expatriate jockey Brett Prebble believes he was born to be in horse racing. With a father who was a career jockey, the Australian was on the back of a pony by the age of five and took up an apprenticeship with a Melbourne trainer introduced by his father as soon as the education system would release him at the age of 15.

'I'm a natural jockey. I couldn't wait to get out of school and start training to be one,' he said.

And it would be difficult to disagree. After a two-year apprenticeship he became a fully licensed jockey and is now widely recognised as one of the world's most gifted riders. He is ranked fifth in the current season in Hong Kong with winnings of more than HK$9 million.

Prebble came to Hong Kong in 2002. He said it was an easy decision as Hong Kong was the riding stage for the world's best jockeys.

'It is the hardest place to succeed,' he said. 'I've seen many come and many fail. But the ones who are at the top of their game get the momentum. Other than that, Hong Kong has good tax benefits and travel is so convenient. In Australia, we have to drive for a long time to get to the training grounds and the race courses.'

Many will remember Prebble for winning last year's Champions Mile on Bullish Luck, when he finally brought an end to a streak of 18 victories for crowd-favourite Silent Witness. The pair also enjoyed success in this year's Champions Mile, as well as the Yasuda Kinen in Japan. Winning those two legs of the Asian Mile Challenge earned a US$1 million bonus for Bullish Luck. Prebble said the Yasuda Kinen was the 'big one' but modestly suggested that luck played a part.

For all the success he is now enjoying, he still recalls his first win, on White on Me, in Australia, in 1993. 'I was hoping to win but wasn't expecting to. I had never won any races so I hadn't got the feel of it. It was an important day in my life and I have never forgotten it.'