Come On Wongchoy was a moderate racehorse – but he is thriving in his second career in eventing after coming through the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Restart initiative
The racehorse aftercare programme in Hong Kong is called Restart, and there are few better examples of those invigorating intentions than Come On Wongchoy, who was the epitome of a racehorse with a flat battery before having that vital spark restored by a new vocation, a new direction in life.
The gelding was little more than background noise at Sha Tin and Happy Valley, an eminently skippable name in the racecard even at the lowest Class 5 level. Despite a solitary success racing wasn’t really his game – but now he’s the biggest player of all in the post-racing world and has a trophy cabinet to match.
“He’s been a fast learner,” says his owner Christian Allderidge. “So much so that he has been the Equestrian Federation of Hong Kong China’s Best Retired Racehorse for the last two years. He’s an incredibly special horse.”
Rags to riches, zero to hero. Come On Wongchoy was given a new purpose and a new name – Allderidge calls him ‘Hugo’ – when he left the racing system at the end of 2020. It was time for a fresh start; time for Restart.
“Former racehorses make up a significant portion of our equestrian centre horse population, so we apply to the Hong Kong Jockey Club to take horses directly from their Restart retraining programme,” says Allderidge, the manager of Lo Wu Saddle Club, where Hugo is based, a few miles north-west of Sha Tin racecourse.
Inspired choice
“This was during Covid, so instead of the usual viewing and trialling process, I simply selected him from the videos we were sent.”
It was an inspired choice. Hugo swiftly showed an aptitude for his new role as a competition horse, surprising Allderidge with his rate of progress.
“It was clear when he came to us that he was naturally quite talented, and he was also an intelligent horse who picked things up very quickly,” he says.
“Along with that talent came a fairly active brain, and at first he was very reactive. One of the most challenging things about the initial period was keeping him stimulated in the right way while giving him enough time to develop physically. His confidence in his own ability and his confidence in his rider took a while to establish.
“But now, after nearly four years, Hugo has progressed from having no competition experience as an equestrian horse to competing with success in FEI (Fédération Équestre Internationale)events in the three Olympic disciplines – dressage up to medium level, show jumping up to 110cm and eventing up to 100cm.
“One of the best moments we’ve had together was when he won the FEI World Dressage Challenge Senior I competition in 2022,” says Allderidge. “He was the only retired racehorse in the class, so that was an achievement I was very proud of.
Incredibly proud
“There was also the first time he jumped clear in cross-country,” he goes on. “Hugo wasn’t naturally the most confident when he first started eventing and kept having little mishaps, so the first time everything fell into place and he jumped round confidently and went clear was another incredibly proud moment for me.”
That confidence born of a job well done was absent during Come On Wongchoy’s racing career, with his sole victory when front-running under the lights at Happy Valley followed by a string of defeats in which he never finished closer than seventh. The Restart programme was his salvation.
Hong Kong’s programme for its ex-racehorses – inaugurated in 1964 and expanded in 2020 with the opening of the Retired Horse Unit at Conghua – is built on five pillars, with the fundamentals of assisting the transition between racetrack owners and post-racing owners, and then promoting and supporting the second careers of these horses, underpinning the whole.
This scheme is arguably more important for the sport in Hong Kong than it might be elsewhere, as more than 90 per cent of the horses in the jurisdiction are geldings with no prospect of a stud career and limited sell-on value.
Retirement fee
When a horse is imported into Hong Kong a fee is collected from the owner as a contribution towards the horse’s retirement. When its racing career comes to an end, the owner can choose to export the horse to a country of their preference, with that fee returned, or if the owner prefers not to do this they can transfer the horse into the care of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
The horse then undergoes assessment for entry into the Restart retraining programme, and the retirement fee is retained as a contribution to the funding of the programme along with additional financial input provided by the HKJC.
Photographs of Come On Wongchoy in competition pepper the promotional pages on the HKJC website, his role as a poster boy for the possibilities of ‘what comes next’ already well established.
Allderidge is acutely conscious of the significance of Hong Kong’s aftercare programme, and the role Hugo is playing within it. “I can’t stress enough how important it is, and the Hong Kong Jockey Club does it very well,” he says.
“The fact that we are able to give these horses a second career, and bring joy to many more people, is really very special.
“The HKJC looks at each horse as an individual and tries to match it with the most suitable second career,” he continues. “A large portion of the equestrian sport horse population here is made up of retired Thoroughbreds, so the backbone of our industry does depend on these beautiful animals.
“In addition, retired Thoroughbreds are often used to teach people to ride, and therefore Hong Kong is a unique riding school environment in that regard.”
Hugo has begun the 2024-25 season in good form and Allderidge is excited about the prospect of another successful campaign. More satisfying than trophies, though, is the opportunity to continue their progression in Hugo’s new line of work, to see how far they can go together.
Very affectionate
“Hugo is one of the easiest horses I have ever had the pleasure of looking after,” adds Allderidge. “He is very affectionate, loves cuddles, scratches and attention, and he is a real people-person. He definitely knows the difference between work and rest time, and is much more alert in his work, but he always tries his absolute best and gives everything 100 per cent.”
His surefooted and swift development has provided Hugo with yet another string to his bow. Retired Thoroughbreds may be used to teach beginners to ride in Hong Kong, but it demands a far higher level of capability and generosity to assist more accomplished riders in their advancement. Now that Hugo has been restarted, there’s no stopping him.
“Since he has become more established in his second career, he also works with the younger, up-and-coming competition riders to help them in their training,” says Allderidge.
“This, for me, is the best thing about him, and is something that will be ongoing in our partnership – just to see what a kind, trusting horse he has turned into, and the fact that he has grown in confidence so much it has enabled him to start helping the next generation develop.
“Hugo has been a successful racehorse, a successful competition horse, and is now on the road to becoming a schoolmaster as well. He really is a remarkable horse.”
• Visit Restart retraining web page and the Hong Kong Jockey Club website
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