Hong Kong’s top jockey Vincent Ho stages a strong comeback to the racetrack
- Top home-grown Hong Kong jockey, Vincent Ho Chak-yiu, has made an astonishingly strong return to horse racing, stunning many with his rapid recovery from serious injuries sustained in Japan last summer.
- Through hard work and relentless pursuit of excellence in the sport, Ho has etched his name among the world’s elite athletes who continually push the boundaries of their physical capabilities.
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Ho’s remarkable comeback stands as a powerful testament to his tenacity, resolve, and exceptionally rigorous physical conditioning.
On September 20, Ho masterfully steered Dancing Code to a resounding victory, much to the delight of his ardent supporters and Dancing Code’s owner Aaron Kwok. It’s hard to imagine that barely two months ago, Ho was confined to a hospital bed, grappling with severe pain.
Ho made his return to the racetrack on September 17. Displaying his characteristic resilience, he said, “I’m feeling robust and my fitness levels have bounced back. I believe I can handle it.”
Taking a measured approach to his comeback, Ho wanted to pace himself initially and start the race meetings with a few rides. As the season unfolds, he has anticipated gradually increasing his presence on the track. His current focus is on quality over quantity. Nevertheless, fans of Ho can look forward to seeing him back in action with Golden Sixty in the coming months.
As a seasoned jockey, Ho understands that horse racing is an extremely challenging sport. It’s more demanding than Formula One racing, because a jockey is controlling a living, thinking creature, he told Varsity, a publication by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, several years ago.
In the widely reported incident during a race in Niigata, Japan this past July, Ho took a severe fall that left him with,a fractured T5 vertebra, concussion and a rib fracture. The pain was so intense that it rendered him unconscious for 10 minutes. Upon regaining consciousness, he found himself screaming in agony, rating the pain level a ‘ten out of ten.’
However, Ho credits his regular fitness regimen for mitigating the severity of his injuries. He believes that his robust physical condition, honed by consistent training, played a crucial role in protecting his bones from more extensive damage. “My muscles have been strengthened through regular training, which I believe shielded my bones from more serious harm,” Ho said.
“In the immediate aftermath of the accident, I was worried, especially during the first couple of weeks,” Ho revealed. “A week after my admission to Hong Kong’s Union Hospital, I underwent a series of scans. The results, interpreted by a leading spine surgeon, offered me a glimmer of hope. I would be able to race again.”
Ho expressed his gratitude towards the CEO of HKJC and his trainers for their staunch support during this challenging period. “They advised me to allow myself ample time for a complete recovery,” he added.
In the pursuit of his recovery, Ho went to a renowned hospital in Geneva, Switzerland. This institution is globally recognised as a premier destination for athlete rehabilitation and treatment. Ho said, “This is where the national sports teams come for their healing. It rarely accepts outpatients. I was fortunate to gain access through a special connection made by a friend.”
The centre is well-known for its comprehensive, systematic custom rehab programmes for individual athletes and is well-equipped with cutting-edge technologies, Ho noted. “Its rehabilitation programme and physiotherapy helped fortify my self-assurance,” he said. “After consultations with sports doctors, I had one-on-one sessions with physiotherapists and coaches. It dawned on me that my full recovery wouldn’t take as long as three months.”
During his stay in Geneva, Ho dedicated an average of five hours each day at the rehab centre for over a week. “I frequently used the oxygen chamber as it expedited the healing process of my fractured bones. Under the watchful eyes of the coaches, I also engaged in extensive hydrotherapy,” he added.
Ho’s resolve saw him defy the odds, halving the initial recovery time estimate to a mere six weeks. On September 9, he made a return to fitness training in Hong Kong, swiftly followed by resuming practice in galloping and mastering the starting gate.
“The spectre of a fall can loom large over some jockeys,” Ho said. To combat these intrusive thoughts, he sought the expertise of a sports psychologist during his time in Geneva. The professional guidance provided him with the necessary mental tools to confidently mount a horse once again.
The incident has fortified Ho’s mental resilience. He expressed his gratitude towards his family, friends and colleagues who supported him during his recuperation period, allowing him to focus solely on his recovery. “My appreciation for life has deepened through this experience. I’ve discovered a renewed passion for horses and riding,” he said.
In the relentless pursuit of excellence that defines the sport of horse racing, only the elite can truly grasp the magnitude of Ho’s dedication and discipline. Since he began his professional training at the age of 16 in 2006, Ho has consistently strived to push the limits of athleticism, marking one achievement after another.
The 2022-2023 season was a personal best for Ho so far. He clinched a total of 96 wins in Hong Kong, thereby securing his fourth Tony Cruz Award for best local rider. Ho also reached 500 Hong Kong wins, one of his milestones, in March 2023.
Ho has cemented his status as a world-class athlete by securing a place in the horse racing history books: he is the first Asian jockey to win all three legs of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series, aboard none other than Golden Sixty. He also became the first Asian jockey to win the Group 1 Champions Mile in 2020, a title he has held for three times aboard Southern Legend and Golden Sixty.
In recent years, Ho claimed a whopping 12 Group 1 titles, achieving several of them aboard Golden Sixty.
Hard work, dedication and determination have paid off for Ho. His story is a testament to the extraordinary feats that can be achieved when one dares to test the limits of their potential, sometimes even in the face of adversity. In the years to come, Ho will certainly continue to add to his already distinguished sporting career with numerous breakthroughs.