TOP horse trainer Eddie Lo Kwok-chow burst into tears when he was cleared of drug charges yesterday.
He embraced his defence counsel, Kevin Egan, and his brother after his acquittal in Eastern Court.
Magistrate Judianna Barnes accepted Lo had no knowledge of the minute quantity of cocaine and cannabis found in his Sha Tin flat in October last year.
Outside court, Lo said all he had wanted was to be vindicated. 'This case was a race I had to win.' He said he could now put his ordeal behind him and would try to train more winners.
The court had heard Lo may have been set up by someone who planted the drugs and tipped off police. However, he told the South China Morning Post he was not aware of anyone with a grudge against him.
But he added: 'As a horse trainer, there might be reasons causing a lot of people to dislike me over the years. I can't please them all.' He said that since his arrest, more than 10 of the 35 horses he was training had been withdrawn from his stables by their owners.