https://www.scmp.com/rss/514402/feed Dr Sinead Sheridan is a certified exercise physiologist with academic affiliations to Chinese University, Education University and the University of Hong Kong. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com He’s ridden Group One winners all over the world and now Andrea Atzeni is making his presence felt in the Hong Kong racing cauldron after moving to the city at the start of this season. Well versed in the physical rigours of professional racing in the United Kingdom, Atzeni is enjoying the freedom of his new routine in Hong Kong and he is uniquely positioned to assess the benefits and challenges of each jurisdiction. “Overall, I think life as a jockey in the UK is physically a lot more demanding... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/3261608/after-rigours-riding-united-kingdom-andrea-atzeni-loving-hong-kong-way-recovery-side-huge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/3261608/after-rigours-riding-united-kingdom-andrea-atzeni-loving-hong-kong-way-recovery-side-huge?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 May 2024 10:00:20 +0000 Eleven years on, Little Bridge remains the most recent Hong Kong-trained horse to win at Royal Ascot. That will change on Saturday if Ryan Moore is successful aboard Wellington in the Group One Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (1,200m). However, back in 2012, it was then 29-year-old Zac Purton who did Hong Kong proud by riding Danny Shum Chap-shing-trained sprinter Little Bridge to victory in the Group One King’s Stand Stakes (1,000m) on the opening day of the royal meeting. Two and half years... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/3225045/advice-frankie-dettori-paved-way-zac-purtons-royal-ascot-win-little-bridge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/3225045/advice-frankie-dettori-paved-way-zac-purtons-royal-ascot-win-little-bridge?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jun 2023 11:05:59 +0000 Hong Kong racing entered the twilight zone for the first time in 20 years at Sha Tin on Sunday, with the Jockey Club moving back the start time of its day meetings three hours to “enhance what are already stringent protective arrangements and ensure that as the climate changes, we can continue to provide the best possible safeguards for both horses and riders”. The combination of extreme heat, humidity and strenuous exercise is potentially challenging to the thermoregulatory system of an athlete... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/3222958/hong-kongs-move-twilight-racing-definitely-good-thing-jockeys?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/3222958/hong-kongs-move-twilight-racing-definitely-good-thing-jockeys?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jun 2023 05:50:30 +0000 The ability of an athlete to monitor their resting heart rate is crucial from a training, recovery and health standpoint. For Karis Teetan, this simple yet important biometric was the initial indication something was not quite right at the beginning of the racing season. Typically, well-conditioned athletes have a resting heart rate below 60 beats per minute, a training adaptation known as bradycardia. For Teetan, this value – which would normally lie somewhere between 40-50 beats per minute –... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/3219794/untangling-thyroid-condition-temporarily-derailed-karis-teetans-season?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/3219794/untangling-thyroid-condition-temporarily-derailed-karis-teetans-season?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 May 2023 09:17:22 +0000 It’s been quite the year for Lyle Hewitson. This week marks the one-year anniversary of that horrific four-horse fall in the Longines Hong Kong Sprint that left the South African jockey in intensive care for three days with a bleed on the brain and a fractured pelvis. The then 24-year-old made a remarkable recovery to return to competitive racing within just five weeks and he went on to land a further 26 winners last season, a marked improvement on the three wins he secured during his previous... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/3202800/lyle-hewitson-reflects-his-remarkable-recovery-horror-hkir-fall-age-was-my-side?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/3202800/lyle-hewitson-reflects-his-remarkable-recovery-horror-hkir-fall-age-was-my-side?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Dec 2022 01:43:40 +0000