When Brett Crawford returned to his apartment on course at Sha Tin on Sunday after a landmark day – securing a double to register his first two Hong Kong wins – he took time to reflect and there was a fleeting moment where his career flashed before his eyes.
Away from the commotion and flash bulbs, his thoughts turned to two key figures who have helped shape his journey: long-time South African assistant Barry Donnelly, whose sudden death aged 70 just days before the Hong Kong season opener hung heavily over his debut meeting, and Hong Kong assistant Roy Cheung – the man “who deserves all the credit”, according to Crawford.
“Barry was basically part of the furniture in the stable,” Crawford told Idol Horse. “He joined me not long after I started on my own and had been with me for about 12 years. So it was a big shock for us because it happened really quickly and it was a huge loss. He remains a big part of our team and I am grateful to him for everything. He will be part of Crawford Racing forever, wherever we are.”
So too will Cheung, who joined Crawford upon Benno Yung’s retirement.
“I’m very grateful and I’ve been very lucky to get Roy as the ‘A.T.’ from Benno,” he said. “Roy’s been the one who has put the team and the stable together. As a foreigner coming in, you have no idea how things are going to work and you don’t know anybody and what they can do.
“Roy’s put the team together between Sha Tin and Conghua and I think he’s done an outstanding job. He’s the one who deserves all the credit and I am very lucky to have someone like Roy as part of my team.”
For a horseman like Crawford, the switch from a large Cape Town stable to a smaller Hong Kong operation has allowed him to get back to basics – something he feels is vital in Hong Kong’s demanding conditions.
“I personally think it’s been a big plus, to be honest,” he said. “Sometimes when you’ve got big stables like we did in South Africa, you obviously manage it but you definitely don’t have the interaction with each individual horse. I have that now and that’s been quite a change. It’s been quite a few years since I’ve been able to do that so it’s been really good, particularly given the environment here.
“Everything I do is about producing a healthy, happy horse. No matter where you train in the world, they’ve got to be sound and they’ve got to be fit. And obviously to get that balance, it’s sometimes not easy because you have horses that are not sound that you might not be able to get as fit as you’d like. So I think that’s the key and I think even moreso in Hong Kong because it’s a tough environment – the horses race hard here and they race often here. So I think that that’s the key for me in a place like Hong Kong compared to South Africa.”
Hong Kong racing has its own rhythm and its own superstitions. A strong start can shape a reputation and while Crawford’s early success – two wins, two seconds and a third from seven starters – has drawn attention, he insists it is due to more fortune than formula.
“People told me that when you start, make sure you start well,” he said. “You know, in this game, you can never determine when you can start and when you can’t start – the horses are the ones that tell you when they’re ready. So I came here with an open mind and my objective was always just to bring the horses to the races when I felt they were ready.
“And the fact that these horses have presented themselves early on in the season has just been lucky from my side. It could go either way – some horses could take a while to settle into the new training regime and the different environment, but the horses seem to have thrived on the change. I’ve just let them tell me when they are ready and we’ve been very fortunate.
“We’ve managed to secure a couple of nice horses that are coming in from Australia at the moment on new permits so it will be nice to have some fresh legs in the stable. Hong Kong seems to be a place where you need to be in the moment all the time, so with some attention being drawn to us, we hopefully will get a bit more support. And I’m sure the team will be able to build on that.”
It has been both a professional and a personal transition for Crawford and his partner Gwen MacGregor, who made the move to Sha Tin in early June.
“It’s quite different just in the way you work,” he said. “The amount of lots that come out in the morning, South Africa is very different to here. But then having everything close by – your gallops, your trials, all in one place – it’s great so I must say I’m enjoying it. I’ve had to change a few things – we don’t trial in South Africa, so that’s something I’ve had to get used to, but it seems like the horses are enjoying it too and hopefully that continues.
“And obviously Hong Kong I think is a wonderful place. I think the energy in Hong Kong is amazing. And both Gwen and I have settled in really well and we are enjoying it. Obviously, getting the monkey off our back has helped a lot too so hopefully it’s onwards and upwards from there.” ∎
