Alexis Badel will ride in Japan this summer, becoming the latest Hong Kong-based jockey to be licensed by the Japan Racing Association (JRA) for the summer season.
He follows a number of big names from Hong Kong to have spent their off-season competing in the JRA’s more low-key summer schedule: in the last 15 years that list has included Joao Moreira, Zac Purton, Douglas Whyte, Vincent Ho, Nash Rawiller, and Karis Teetan.
The Frenchman is set to depart Hong Kong for Tokyo after the season’s final fixture at Happy Valley on July 16, and will be available to ride 10 days later when race meetings will be staged at Chukyo, Niigata and Sapporo.
“Right after the season in Hong Kong, I’ll be flying to Tokyo for a week at first, then I will be able to ride on July 26th,” Badel told Idol Horse. “I’ll be there until late August.”
He will return to Hong Kong for the start of the 2025-26 season in early September.
Badel’s only previous experience riding in Japan came in August 2023 when he won one of eight races, the last leg in the four-race World All Star Jockeys contest. His invitation to ride that weekend in Sapporo came five months after he won the Hong Kong Derby on Voyage Bubble, which followed Group 1 wins the previous year on the star sprinter Wellington.
“I didn’t try to go to Japan last year, but I found out I was still qualified for this season, so I thought I would try (to obtain a licence),” Badel said
“After what I saw in Sapporo when I did the challenge, I thought the racing is as good as everyone likes to say it is, so I’m very excited to go there and try something different, something fresh. It’s good to have a new challenge.
“But, while I’m very excited, I’m also cool and chill: it’s been a long season in Hong Kong, so I’m going with a calm mindset but excited at the same time.”
Badel first rode in Hong Kong on a short licence in 2016 and relocated full-time to the city in the 2020-21 season.
His wife Eva and their two daughters will spend the summer in Japan, too.
“Everyone is coming, we’ll all be part of the journey,” he said. “We’ll have a good time there and I’ll do my best to do well.
“Hopefully I’ll get some good support and it will be a fine experience.”
Badel’s father Alain finished second in the 1991 Japan Cup on Magic Night behind Golden Pheasant. ∎
