Racing: Hong Kong apprentice rewarded for dedication

A happy Alvin Ng returns to scale on Broadway Miss.Photo / Kenton Wright

Dedication in sport - if you could bottle it you could retire immediately.

Absolute dedication comes from a number of avenues.

In riding horses, the desire to better yourself is a major factor.

It led to Hong Kong apprentice Alvin Ng riding his first New Zealand winner, Broadway Miss, at Te Aroha yesterday.

The teenage Ng is from the same yearly class as fellow Hong Kong apprentice jockey Vincent Ho, who has been a revelation for the Andrew Scott stable in Matamata this season.

Ho and Ng prove one fact - natural ability will take you a long way, but having natural ability coupled with an absolute desire to be the best you can possibly be will take you all the way.

The Asian pair are apprenticed to the Hong Kong Jockey Club which farms out its young learning riders to various racing precincts worldwide for about a year.

In New Zealand, pretty much any teenager who believes they're light enough and wants the racing lifestyle can become an apprentice jockey.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club has around 1000 applications a year and takes in between 20-30.

The difference that makes is that those who are accepted know they're extremely lucky and make the most of that luck.

Lance Noble, who trains yesterday's winner Broadway Miss, cannot speak highly enough of Alvin Ng.

"He and Vincent are two of the most impressive young men you could meet.

"Because they've beaten a lot of others to get a start in racing, they're hungry for success from day one."

Vincent Ho came straight from Hong Kong to New Zealand, but Alvin Ng spent time last year in a stable in Gosford before the Australian Government, inexplicably, withdrew the visas for visiting riders, which is how he ended up with Lance Noble.

He rode a couple of winners in Australia from around 100 rides.

The benefit of sending young riders around the world can be gauged by Andrew Scott's previous Hong Kong apprentice Derek Leung.

As he was learning in New Zealand, Leung looked useful without appearing to be top class, certainly no more promising than Ho and Ng.

But since he has been back in Hong Kong Leung is a powerful force.