By Emma Berry
It is said that as one door closes another opens, but for Douglas Whyte this has happened in reverse. In mid-February, the Hong Kong Jockey Club approved the 13-time champion jockey's application for a trainer's licence, thus expediting his retirement from the saddle ahead of the end of the season.
The door is now firmly closed on that phenomenally successful chapter of his life, and as Whyte puts plans in place for the second phase of his racing career in time for the new season in September, he has made the most of some downtime to expand his knowledge by visiting a range of trainers in Newmarket. For the last month, he has been experiencing a markedly different training base to Sha Tin through the eyes of William Haggas, Sir Michael Stoute, Charlie Appleby, Marco Botti and Sir Mark Prescott.
He says, “Some of the best trainers in the world are here and we obviously buy [for Hong Kong] a lot of horses from here, for the Derby and so forth. From a training perspective, I'm never going to be able to follow the procedures, but I didn't come for those reasons. There's horsemen out here that have been around a lot longer than me, and that are smart and wise. So to be around them, and pick up a few things along the way, I thought that would be of benefit.”
The last few weeks have been no one-way street, however, for while Whyte may have been picking up a few tips from his fellow trainers, they have made the most of having a jockey of his calibre in their midst. On Saturday morning, Whyte was among the first-lot gallopers from the Stoute stable, riding alongside his former colleagues Silvestre de Sousa, Ted Durcan and Richard Hills.
“When I came over to England with London News (SAf) after he won the QE2, I was based with Barry Hills [in Lambourn]. I'd never done a gallop on Newmarket Heath, but I've pretty much done every one of them now,” adds Whyte.
“The training here is different, and you can see why the horses have longevity and why you can keep them colts because you're out at exercise longer. In Hong Kong, it's a very different work regime and it's all against the clock. To get your horses out for more than 45 minutes would be pushing to the absolute limit.”
After more than two decades in Hong Kong, there's little the South African-born Whyte doesn't know about the racing scene on the island. As the winningmost jockey in Hong Kong's history, he is revered. From September, however, the counter is reset to zero as he sets about proving himself in a different sphere.
“I'm very grateful to the club for having the confidence in me,” he says. “I've been there 22 years and I think I know the system inside out. I've changed a few systems from when I rode, with the form and asking for rides, and booking rides. I know that side of it, and I've been around horses all my life. I'm not afraid of anything. It's more about management. You need the right team, and once you have the right team behind you, I think you can do anything.”
The idea to train has been no long-held back-up plan, but it is a fork in the road that has appeared at the right time for the 47-year-old, who landed Hong Kong's championship for 13 consecutive years from the 2000-2001 season.
He says, “Funnily enough, I never gave it much thought. Ask most jockeys that have retired, they'll say that you don't give it a thought. When I'd won my 13 premierships, and I was flying still, and then I was mostly in the top three or four, it wasn't a question of being ready to retire, it was more that there's a shelf life in Hong Kong, and they love new competition. That's what Hong Kong is about. So I saw an opportunity that might present itself, and the penny dropped, and that's when I started to think about it realistically. It's been on my mind for a while, and when I say a while, not the last ten, five years, but long enough for me to have accepted that should the Jockey Club offer me the opportunity, I was going to grab it with both hands. And I was fortunate enough that that all unfolded.”
With the balloting for owners' permits currently taking place in Hong Kong, Whyte can't start to assemble his equine team immediately, hence his fortuitous hiatus from his adopted homeland.
“I won't be able to do this again in my life. Once you start out you're too busy. I'll get back and set up a team. I've got a couple of work riders. I'm still looking for an international work rider, so I'm keeping my eyes open. The club, fortunately, has said I can bring one back,” he explains.
“When I start off, I will be getting some transferred horses from other yards. It's what always happens. And I know a lot of owners—I think I've ridden for just about everyone—so from that point of view, I have a slight advantage and I'm hoping I will get some support.”
He continues, “I know the system, so now it's just getting my team into place, managing things correctly and having that confidence in what you see. Watching Sir Michael and William Haggas, it been interesting to see them having a look at a horse and being able to be to have the confidence to change the track work because something doesn't look right. It's not falling into a system whereby, today's Monday so we're galloping and tomorrow's Tuesday so we're doing something else. They're very open-minded, and I think that's been one of the biggest learning curves. They're not afraid, if something's not right, to say don't work it today. Walk it, give it a day off. I think that's the biggest difference, which I will try my best to have the mental power to follow. It's very difficult, when the pressure's on, to do that.
“That's why I chose this period, because there's no big racing but they're building up, leading into races. And by watching those horses furnish, even just in two weeks that I've been with each individual, it's just phenomenal.”
Whyte's working holiday also came at a good time for him personally following an understandably emotional retirement from a career which saw him ride more than 1,800 winners in Hong Kong.
“I held it together, I didn't think I would,” he says. “I think the fact that I knew I was staying in Hong Kong, and I'd still be around that group made it a little bit easier to walk away. But it was tough, the first two weeks were very tough. And I made a quick decision that I needed to get out of there straight away but I needed to still be around horses, and be with people. I went to Dubai straight away and I was with Mike de Kock for two weeks, and then coming here and still riding work, it's kind of kept me on the straight and narrow.”
He adds, “It's been fantastic. The likes of Ryan Moore, William Buick, James Doyle, they're great guys, and having ridden against them in Hong Kong, they know me as a competitor. They don't see me as a competitor now, but still to have that respect and say 'let's go out for dinner' and those sorts of thing. I really appreciate it.”
Despite his enjoyable sojourn in Newmarket and Dubai, Whyte, who has effectively lived an ex-pat life for almost half his years, is adamant that he would only wish to train in Hong Kong.
He says, “My children were all born there. We've got Hong Kong passports, we're locals. I've ridden against the best of the best that have come out there, and that's what they're good at in Hong Kong. They just want the best, and they want the best facilities. They want to be the most professional. They want to run their races cleanly, but very competitively, and they want everybody to be well looked after in the industry. There's a big list [of people] that want to be there. There's been some of the best that have been there, and I've seen them come and go.”
He continues, “I'm going from the limelight of a riding career, of 22 years in Hong Kong, to being a trainer, and I wouldn't have trained anywhere else in the world. I wouldn't have been able to start from scratch like some of these guys do, and have to worry about monthly payments, and all these concerns, such as how my horse is going to get to the races. The club offers you all of that. All you have to do is try, and turn up and do your job as well as you can. It's a great opportunity.”
The door is open. Expect Douglas Whyte to come bursting through.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
