Until a touch over three weeks ago Alexis Badel’s first full Hong Kong season had been near perfect but it was a determined and somewhat unfulfilled Frenchman who signed off early at Sha Tin on Saturday evening.

After a bumper season featuring his first Group One victory in Hong Kong, a Classic Series success and 58 winners, the final few weeks of Badel’s campaign have been soured by a suspension that bought his season to a premature close with five meetings remaining.

Pleading guilty to failing to take all reasonable and permissible measures to achieve the best possible result aboard V Chevaliers at Sha Tin on June 6, Badel was whacked with a five-meeting ban and fined HK$240,000 after a process the 31-year-old admits he “wasn’t prepared for”.

“It’s been very stressful and there’s been lots of anxiety through the inquiry,” he said. “It’s a lesson and I just want to carry on, I give my best every time so I’m going to keep it that way.”

Badel’s pocket was hit further when he was fined HK$185,000 on June 20 – HK$180,000 for careless riding and HK$5,000 fine for dropping his whip.

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While not an amount of money one would traditionally want to part with, the hefty fines were the lesser of two evils and ensured Badel’s suspension did not carry over considerably into the new season.

The HK$240,000 was the equivalent of four meetings and the HK$180,000 of three, meaning Badel can hit the ground running in 2021-22 after a couple of extra weeks to ponder what he wants to achieve next.

“I’m never happy and I can only improve,” said the jockey, who had his first look at the augurs of life as a full-time Hong Kong jockey after four previous short-term stints.

“It’s very competitive, it’s very difficult and being in Hong Kong with a long-term vision is obviously very different from a short-term contract.

“You need momentum and you need to keep it going, or if you don’t have it you need to create the momentum.”

After 26 winners in a four-month stint last season, Badel made the permanent move to Hong Kong knowing how to win here but it was the big-race success he craved most.

His 58 winners will likely leave him in fifth position in the jockeys’ championship when all is said and done on July 14 – he’s currently fourth, with Vincent Ho Chak-yiu hot on his tail with 57 victories – and while it’s a nice number, he’s quick to gravitate towards his two biggest moments.

“I’ve been going well every winter time so I just tried to maintain this rhythm, no matter how many winners I had,” he said.

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“It’s a different life but obviously being able to win the Classic Cup [with Healthy Happy] and the Chairman’s Sprint Prize [aboard Wellington] was a very good effort and I’m glad for the support I have had so far.

“I think having the two Group Ones – one local and one international – was the main thing for me this season.”

Alexis Badel celebrates a winner at Happy Valley this season.

Badel will remain in Hong Kong with his family during the off-season and has confirmed he will be here for the long-term: “since day one I have enjoyed Hong Kong a lot”.

Big-race victories aside, Badel will have his sights set on climbing further up the premiership table and loosening Karis Teetan’s stranglehold on the third rung behind dominant pair Zac Purton and Joao Moreira.

Teetan will finish third for the fourth season running but is only 17 winners ahead of Badel right now and closing that gap further looks a natural next step for the hungry Frenchman.

“I want to ride more winners and I need to keep achieving Group One victories and try to win as many big races as I can,” Badel said.

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