For an outsider looking in, it would appear top jockey George HoSang was living the dream, in the 1970s, dominating his sport at a young age had afforded him luxuries many at the time dared only dream of.
On the inside looking out, however, Hosang’s battle to hold steady reins during a tumultuous period, not only for Jamaica's top race track Caymanas Park, but the country on a whole, more closely resembled the stuff of vivid nightmares.
Unfortunately, in addition to being handsomely paid for booting home, at times, a seemingly endless caravan of winners, his rewards also included threats at gunpoint, verbal abuse from the stands, and even kidnapping, as part of painstaking efforts to navigate a system rife with corruption. In the end, it simply proved too much. This is his story.
#Editor’s note
The following podcast contains brief instances of explicit language. We, however, felt it appropriate to give HoSang the opportunity to air an unfiltered account of the horrific instances of abuse he suffered during the period and found it to be an integral part of his story.
The Foxes would be a poignant Derby winner for Balding and King Power
It has been 52 years since Mill Reef won the Betfred Derby from Park House Stables, but Andrew Balding is dreaming of ending the Kingsclere’s long wait for another Epsom champion with Dante hero The Foxes.
Balding of course landed the opening Classic of the season when Chaldean triumphed in the 2000 Guineas, but is still searching for his first win in the calendar’s premier contest having gone close with both Khalifa Sat in 2020 and Hoo Ya Mal 12 months ago.
Not only would a victory for The Foxes provide Balding with a first Derby success, it would be a first British Classic triumph for owners King Power Racing, the racing arm of the owners of Leicester City Football Club.
King Power Racing’s founder Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha tragically died in a helicopter crash in 2018 and not only is Balding keen to restore Kingsclere into the story of the Derby, he believes a triumph for The Foxes would be a “fitting tribute to a great man” and a great supporter of the yard.
He said: “We have a rich Derby heritage here at Park House Stables and it has been quiet for more than 50 years now. It is something we want to put right one day and hopefully The Foxes is that horse.
“It is a wonderful race with a rich history that is ever evolving. There is a new chapter every year written about it and it would be lovely to think he could headline that next chapter.
“King Power Racing have been extremely good to me since they started and they have given me strong support since they became involved in racing.
“He (Srivaddhanaprabha) had a huge vision and this would have given him immense satisfaction as the whole thing was to play at the highest level.
“To have had a horse that is a worthy contender for the Derby is what he set out to try and achieve. I’m sure he would be very proud and it would be a fitting tribute to a great man if he did win a Derby.”
Balding has saddled 10 runners in the Derby since he began his training career and although twice taking home a silver medal and also seeing Kameko sent off favourite on the Surrey Downs in 2020, he considers The Foxes to be the stable’s best chance yet of claiming the top prize.
He continued: “From the two that were second – Khalifa Sat and Hoo Ya Mal – The Foxes goes in there with far better credentials than they had. Kameko started the race favourite, and he deserved to be, as he was a 2000 Guineas winner but as history now tells us he didn’t stay.
“Bangkok went there as a Sandown Classic Trial winner and he went there as a lively outsider, but I think this is the best chance we have had.”
Passenger will be supplemented for the Derby, says Stoute
Passenger will be supplemented at a cost of £85,000 for the Betfred Derby on Monday morning, Sir Michael Stoute has said.
The master trainer, who landed the Epsom Classic with Desert Crown last year, will be represented in Saturday’s mile-and-a-half showpiece by the fast-improving Ulysses colt, who was denied a clear run in the Dante Stakes at York.
Passenger, owned by the Niarchos family, made a taking debut when scoring in a mile maiden at Newmarket on April 20.
He was withdrawn from the Dee Stakes at Chester due to heavy ground so connections paid £14,000 to supplement the colt into the Group Two Dante on the Knavesmire.
Upped to an extended 10 furlongs and racing keenly early on his second start, jockey Richard Kingscote found his path blocked when attempting to mount a challenge two furlongs from home.
Once seeing daylight, the 9-4 favourite stayed on nicely and forced a dead-heat for third, just a length and a half behind The Foxes, who enjoyed the run of the race.
Passenger, currently 5-1 third-favourite with the sponsors, will bid to give Stoute a seventh Derby success following victories with Shergar (1981), Shahrastani (1986), Kris Kin (2003), North Light (2004), Workforce (2010) and Desert Crown.
He “worked nicely” in a mile workout on the Al Bahathri Polytrack in Newmarket on Saturday morning, according to Stoute, who confirmed: “We are planning to supplement him for the Derby in the morning.”
Desert Crown, returning from 11 months off after the Derby, saw his colours lowered for the first time when the fast-finishing Hukum overhauled him in the last few strides of the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown on Thursday evening.
Stoute added: “He’s all right. He did everything right until the last hundred yards when he tied up a bit.”
Anderson's Emperorofthecats upsets in Harlequin Cup feature at Caymanas Park
Carl Anderson's Emperorofthecats produced a stunning performance to upset his more fancied rival in a three-year-old and upwards Open Allowance contest for the Harlequin Cup over five furlongs (1,000m) straight at Caymanas Park on Saturday.
Bred, owned and trained by Anderson, Emperorofthecats, piloted by Richard Henry, came home at odds of 16-1, finishing 3 3/4 lengths ahead of his closest rival to secure the lion's share of the $1.29-million purse for his connections.
The four-year-old bay gelding by Emperor Hall-Laws of the Cat, won in a flat 59.0 seconds, after splits of 23.1 and 45.3 seconds.
The contest was expected to be a romp for Dale Murphy's in-form imported Runaway Algo, who was coming off a 13 1/2 lengths in the Seeking My Dream Trophy over seven and a half furlongs (1,500m), where he recorded a new Stakes record time of 1:30.4.
But, with this being Runaway Algo's first race over the straight course in 16 starts on local soil, there were a few doubts about how he would navigate the event, which included more fleet-footed rivals.
It was a pretty even start with Madelyn's Sunshine (Reyan Lewis), Runaway Algo (Linton Steadman) and Emperorofthecats, hooked up on the headlines, before the latter gradually separated himself from the pack and maintained his gallop to the end.
Though Runaway Algo attempted a rally at the furlong pole, he had no response to Emperorofthecats turn of foot.
Yellowstone (Anthony Thomas) closed well to take second ahead of Runaway Algo, while Duke (Dane Dawkins), completed the frame.
Meanwhile, Linton Steadman and Roger Hewitt topped all riders with two wins apiece.
Steadman won aboard Patrick Lynch's California Gold in the second event and the Fernando Geddes-conditioned Thalos in the fourth event.
Hewitt's winners came in the sixth and 10th events aboard Market Place and Ultimate Machine for trainers Robert Pearson and Robert Ffrench, respectively.
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