The Jockey Club licensing committee has ratified an application from trainer John Moore for Australia's champion jockey Darren Beadman to become his retained jockey, starting with the National Day meeting on October 1.
The licensing of Beadman sets aside a long-accepted principle that anyone found guilty of malpractice in Hong Kong would never be allowed back, but Beadman's extraordinary record since his comeback in 1994 has won him a second chance.
Beadman was disqualified for nine months for not allowing Better Choice, trained by Geoff Lane, to run on its merits in November, 1993. He left Hong Kong in disgrace the following week, did his time on the sidelines before returning to become not only the number one rider in his homeland but a respected racing ambassador as well.
'Hong Kong is the one blemish on my CV and ever since I returned to race riding in 1994, I've set myself the task of showing horse racing in a positive light through everything I do,' Beadman said yesterday.
'I guess, with the appropriate modesty, that I've done just about everything I can do in Australia. So the chance to return to Hong Kong and do well, to justify the faith people have showed in me and to prove the sort of person I truly am, that is now very important to me and that's what I will do. Now that it's actually confirmed, the whole family is very excited. I can't wait to get there.'
Beadman, 41, has reached a staggering level of excellence in recent years. He's added seven Sydney jockeys' championships to his three apprentice titles, and broke the Sydney record for winners in a season for the first time in 1994-95, riding 128 winners to claim a 55-year-old record held by the late Billy Cook.
Larry Cassidy subsequently beat that record, but Beadman claimed it back, riding 141 winners in 2002-03 and has reset his own benchmark three more times, with the bar now raised to 164 winners at the end of last season (July 31).
