MIKE de Kock, back from a short trip to Brazil, spoke today about JJ The Jet Plane’s terrific win in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint at Sha-Tin last Sunday.

He extended warm congratulations to the connections and said: “Let me say first off that I know how difficult is to campaign overseas, let alone win a race. I know what Lucky Houdalakis has gone through and he achieved a remarkable training feat. Lucky and his team have made us all proud.”

“JJ The Jet Plane’s win has hugely significant meaning for South African racing and breeding. To have ‘JJ’ and Lizard’s Desire perform so superbly at the highest level in a single year is a tribute to our local breed and of course our breeders who have invested vast amounts in the future of our industry in recent years.”

Mike said that JJ The Jet Plane’s win came at the right time considering the new select bloodstock sale coming up in Cape Town early next year and that new foreign investments will be attracted.

The problem, as he has pointed out tirelessly, is that the existing export protocol still makes it extremely time-consuming and of course costly to race with a top horse overseas.

“This is a big drawback for foreign buyers looking to get involved and we need to intensify our efforts to solve this.  Just imagine how wonderful it would be if we can fly runners from Cape Town one-way to Kong or to Dubai or Australia or wherever.  I cannot not stress the importance of this matter enough. We have to take urgent action or we will lose momentum in this time of potentially substantial growth.”

Photo: Two great South African riders fighting out the finish of the Hong Kong Sprint at Sha-Tin onn 12 December. A determined Felix Coetzee (Rocket Man, red silks), gave all he could, but his mount was beaten in the last stride by Piere Strydom on JJ The Jet Plane (blue, yellow spots), totally focused on his first major overseas win in a race that won’t be forgotten!