The Kid Who Shook Hong Kong Racing Returns A Global Star
Maxime Guyon’s prolific winter stint in 2010 lives long in the memories of Hong Kong racing fans. He returns to Sha Tin as a four-time French champion for what he hopes will become an annual pilgrimage.
FIFTEEN YEARS is a long time in racing. Long enough for a precocious 21-year-old to become a seasoned 36-year-old veteran. Long enough for Douglas Whyte’s iron grip on Hong Kong to give way to Zac Purton’s own dominant reign. Long enough for memories to fade and entire careers to arc.
When Maxime Guyon first arrived in Hong Kong in 2010, he was the kind of underexposed, hungry and gifted young rider the Jockey Club loved to trial. The jockeys’ room he walked into was stacked with hard men at the peak of their powers. Whyte was still king. Brett Prebble was in full flight. Darren Beadman, Gerald Mosse, Olivier Doleuze and Jeff Lloyd brought decades of nous and sharp elbows. The yappy young Purton, nipping at their heels. It wasn’t a place for the faint-hearted.
And the reality hit early: Guyon went four meetings without a winner. In Hong Kong, that can break a young rider before he ever finds his feet. But once Guyon did find them, he couldn’t be stopped.
He rode 15 winners at nearly nine percent, extraordinary for a newcomer in that company. What made him unforgettable, though, was the partnership he struck with Ambitious Dragon – a rising star who carried the young Frenchman to four straight wins, rising from Class 3 to victories in the Classic Cup and the Derby in the space of 70 days. It was a purple patch that felt like destiny and turned Guyon into a cult hero overnight.
“It was amazing for me,” Guyon tells Idol Horse, his voice carrying the warmth of someone revisiting a cherished memory. “My first time abroad. Winning those races on Ambitious Dragon … it did a lot for me.”
But Hong Kong can be fickle. Guyon returned the following season expecting to build on that momentum, only to watch it evaporate. He lost the ride on Ambitious Dragon. Winners became more scarce – just five from 106 rides. Then came a suspension for striking Keith Yeung with his whip during a lower-grade race, an incident that ended his stay. For a young jockey still learning how the world worked, it was a harsh education in how quickly fortunes can turn at Sha Tin.
“Hong Kong … it is not easy,” he says. “You come for a short time, and you need everything to go right. Three months – it is a long time, and a short time.”
Guyon understands that paradox now in a way he couldn’t then. Three months can feel endless when you’re scrambling for rides, but can turn in an instant when things click.
Now Guyon returns not as the wide-eyed prodigy but as one of Europe’s most accomplished riders. He has won nearly 3,200 races globally at a 15 per cent strike rate across 11 jurisdictions. He has claimed 55 Group 1s aboard some of the world’s best horses – Solow, Lope De Vega and Flintshire. He has been French champion jockey four times, including three consecutive titles before finishing second to Cristian Demuro this season.
Fortunately for Guyon, his Hong Kong story didn’t end with Ambitious Dragon, or, worse still, the indignity of lashing out at Yeung. Guyon has come back for big races over the years and won the Hong Kong Vase twice: Flintshire in 2014 and Junko in 2023. Those wins were a reminder that Hong Kong still suits him and the city certainly hasn’t forgotten his talent.
“I try to improve every year,” he says simply. “I think I am a better jockey now. I hope so.”
The Hong Kong Guyon is walking back into has changed as well. The old heads in the jockeys room have been replaced by a younger group – Luke Ferraris, Andrea Atzeni, Lyle Hewitson and an improving local cohort – all scrapping for the same limited opportunities. His countryman Alexis Badel has bounced back to his best. Chinese trainers now command more respect, and a new wave of foreign trainers has lifted the overall professionalism, communication and tactical sharpness.
“Many new trainers, many new jockeys,” Guyon says. “Some Australians … I don’t know if they know me. We will see.”
He laughs when reminded of the old guard. “Fifteen years ago, the jockeys were very tough – Whyte, Prebble, Beadman, Mosse. They were much older than me. They were strong.” Now, at 36, he’s the veteran in the room – the one with the reputation and the résumé.
One thing hasn’t changed: one jockey remains king. Only now it’s Purton, not Whyte, dominating the landscape with an authority that feels even more absolute.
“Zac Purton … he is alone,” Guyon says. “He rides everything. He wins everything.”
Guyon’s three-month stay begins Sunday and is anchored around the Hong Kong International Races on December 14, where he reunites with Sosie, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe third and a leading contender for the Vase.
“For me he can win – I think he should be favourite,” Guyon says without hesitation. “He prefers good ground. Hong Kong is perfect for him.”
He will ride Copartner Prance in the Hong Kong Mile and Chancheng Glory in the Cup – both for trainer Francis Lui – but remains open for the Sprint and, just as importantly, for the next Ambitious Dragon rising through the grades.
“I am waiting,” he says, half-joking. “People can call me.”
Guyon isn’t trying to dine off nostalgia. He seems hungry, even driven, to make his mark again.
“I come to try again – to win races, big races. I will try my best. It is not easy … but I want to try.”
And if things fall into place, he hopes this won’t be a one-off.
“If the Club wants, I can come every winter – every year,” he says. “Not only one time.”
A young prodigy once left Hong Kong a star. An accomplished globetrotter now returns to see whether the city has another iconic chapter to offer him.
“Let’s try again,” he says. ∎
