Freedman Embracing Hong Kong Challenge

Michael Freedman was sort of bred for a challenge like this.

For years a key cog of his family's high-class Thoroughbred operation in Sydney, the 48-year-old somewhat audaciously relocated to Singapore in 2008. Over the course of eight seasons, he saddled no fewer than 470 winner at a 15% strike rate, and conditioned a dozen domestic Group 1 winners, including champion and two-time Horse of the Year Super Easy (NZ); Singapore Gold Cup hero Tropaios (GB); and Better Be the One (Aus), third in the G2 Al Quoz S. in 2012.

In late 2015, Freedman announced his departure from Singapore, with a return to Sydney next on the agenda, but before he left Kranji, he put out a feeler to the Hong Kong Jockey Club, on a whim almost. On Friday, Feb. 17, Freedman's dreams became reality when he was awarded a license to train in Hong Kong for the 2017-2018 season.

So how did it all come together?

“While I was still in Singapore, I put in an application to see if I could get a license to train,” Freedman explained by phone last week. “They received it and basically said we'll keep it on file and if or when the opportunity presents, we'll certainly consider. Just before I left to come back to Australia, I checked in again and asked the question and at that stage there were no vacancies. I made the move back to Australia and started rebooting, but I got a call middle of January to ask whether I still had an interest, to which I naturally said yes and it went from there. I had some interviews and I got the call following the meeting of the licensing committee to say I'd been granted a license.”

And he leaped at the opportunity, with nearly zero trepidation.

“I think Hong Kong is the pinnacle for a trainer,” he offered. “I love everything about how the Club is run, the facilities that are provided, the quality of the horses–it just goes from strength to strength there. It's a huge credit to Hong Kong racing that so many of their races are among the top 25 in the world. I approach it with a great deal of excitement. It something I've obviously wanted to try and do for quite a long time. I see it very much as a long-term prospect for me. It's not something I'm looking to use as a short-term thing at all. I'm hoping–should things go well–that it's a place where I can see out my career.”

Still, having only returned to Australia in early 2016, one might assume that the decision to relocate yet again was not straight-forward. But for Freedman, his path was crystal clear.

“Certainly not on a professional level,” he said when asked whether there was any hesitation at all. “To be offered an opportunity in Hong Kong–I just jumped at it. So, professionally, not a moment's doubt or consideration at all. That was a very easy decision.

He added, “I guess on a personal level, just the fact that we've brought the kids back to Australia and now they're settled in schools here in Sydney–but we felt that they're at an age where they can handle it. We certainly discussed it with them and they seemed fine with the idea as well. That was really the only main consideration, but on a professional level, the idea of getting an opportunity in Hong Kong didn't take me any time at all to say yes.”

Training in one of the most competitive jurisdictions in the world against well-rooted and highly successful peers like John Moore, John Size, Caspar Fownes and Tony Cruz will almost certainly translate into a strike rate far less than the 15% he was achieving in Singapore. But Freedman, by his own admission, isn't one to hide.

“It's a little bit daunting with the quality of trainers you come up against in Hong Kong, but I love a challenge,” he commented. “I've never shied away from a challenge and I am looking forward to it with a great deal of excitement.”

While in Singapore, Freedman had a tremendous amount of his success with Brazilian Joao Moreira in the saddle. The 'Magic Man' has taken Hong Kong by storm over the last three seasons, establishing records left and right. Freedman is relishing the prospect of reuniting with Moreira.

Super Easy | Singapore Turf Club

“Absolutely looking forward to the chance,” Freedman said. “Joao was one of the first to send me a congratulatory text and he said if there's anything I can do to help, and I said, 'well, you could ride some winners, that would be a great help!' That's very exciting. Joao is obviously world-class and he's taken everything before him in Hong Kong, which doesn't surprise me at all. Hopefully we get some opportunities to team up, for sure.”

In terms of trying to build a competitive stable in Hong Kong, Freedman plans on drawing upon his experience of buying horses, both in Australasia and further afield.

“I've been buying horses in this part of the world for a number of years,” he explained. “I also spent a good deal of time buying horses out of the Northern Hemisphere, specifically England, Ireland and France, and that to me will be a big focus as well. It seems that European horses are coming to the fore a lot more. I am hopeful that if I get some good backing and people who want to try to buy some nice horses, I'll be looking for horses in both hemispheres.”

Freedman has been in contact with his various owners since the Hong Kong call up to set things straight for the near future.

“Within the next three or four weeks, we'll have a pretty good idea of what's going on with most of my horses here,” he reported. “I am in daily discussions with owners about their preferences, we're working through that day by day at the moment and I'd say we'd have that resolved within the next few weeks. My plan would be to sort of see things out here in Sydney through the end of The Championships in early April and after that I'd be winding things up and taking a little break and starting to focus on Hong Kong.”

And for their part, executives at the Hong Kong Jockey Club are as excited about welcoming Freedman as he is to join the ranks.

“If you look to Michael's record in terms of statistics: his tally of group-race wins, his strike-rate during the eight years that he was in Singapore and during the time he's been back in Sydney, these things speak for themselves,” commented Andrew Harding, executive director, racing authority, for the HKJC. “What he's been able to do in terms of building a very strong and loyal owner base and assisting them in sourcing good horses from across the world that he's then taken on to success, again, he's a proven performer. When you consider all these things and you take into account also his impeccable integrity and probity, we have in Michael Freedman someone who will make an extremely strong contribution to Hong Kong racing.”

Not that he required any additional wind in his sails, but Freedman says the support he's received from fellow horse people since the announcement has been tremendous.

“The response down here has been amazing,” he related. “Just about everyone that's texted or phoned or that I've bumped into has had nothing but nice things to say and wishing me the best. Some of my fellow trainers agree that it's the chance of a lifetime. The response has been fantastic and it sort of reinforced to me that I have made the right decision.”

Freedman, who will make frequent trips back and forth to Hong Kong over the coming months, will officially begin his tenure July 17.