Watch the video of Eric Saint-Martin riding in the final two races at Sha Tin on Sunday and it's easy to see why rival jockeys rate him among the best in the world.
Then watch the stewards' patrol footage from race three on the same programme to find the flaw in the genius.
As much as this column would want a top-quality jockey like Saint-Martin to continue in Hong Kong, he is in a pretty pickle of his own making and from which he may not emerge.
And while the man himself might like to blame claimer Paul Lo Pak-hin for pushing him beyond the line of tolerance on Sunday, unfortunately that argument is unlikely to cut it with the appeals panel.
Just as 'she made me do it' is not acceptable as the wife basher's defence, neither is the mitigation argument Saint-Martin must surely attempt to raise as he takes this matter to appeal in the coming weeks.
The brilliant French jockey is now in a terrible position for no other reason than his inability to harness that renowned fiery nature.