Steve Talks To Sam Clipperton
Sam Clipperton, at just 23, has done extraordinarily well in his first season in one of the world’s toughest riding environments.
He’s in contention to finish third on the jockey’s table – a mini premiership in itself given that nobody will finish within cooee of Joao Moreira and Zac Purton as was also the case last season.
He’s ridden 35 winners for the racing year which is just three shy of Brett Prebble’s best first season return (in 2004-2005) of the Australian jockeys currently riding in Hong Kong.
It is particularly noteworthy given that other Australian jockeys have failed in Hong Kong when considered ‘too young’ and given that there’s not too many scraps to fight over after Moreira and Purton have helped themselves to the tastiest offerings.
Therein lies the problem and dealing with it is the key to success for any jockey newcomer to Hong Kong. The jockeys are not permitted to have a manager save for the first six weeks when a club appointee assists with introductions and procuring rides.
After that initiation, it is entirely down to the jockey to do the form, chase the right rides, get on the right horses in track work, establish the right relationships and deal with the inevitable disappointment of being replaced on a horse you’ve groomed. Not to mention dealing with the similarly inevitable losing run.
It requires a level of hard work and discipline which is beyond many a young rider but not beyond Clipperton who immediately strikes you as sensible, balanced and hardworking. He obligingly made time to speak to me during one of the recent major meetings in Hong Kong.
“Is he really as a good a guy as he seems to be?” I couldn’t help but ask some of the Hong Kong based journalists who deal with him on a more frequent basis. “Oh yes,” was the unanimous reply.
Clipperton immersed himself in the Hong Kong project from the moment it became a possibility. “It was a dream of mine, for some reason, to ride in Hong Kong although I didn’t expect the opportunity would come along as early as it did. I did have a very good season in Australia the year before which obviously helped,” he said.
That very good season included two Group One wins early in 2016 – claiming the All Aged Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) aboard English (Encosta De Lago) and winning the Coolmore Classic (registered as TAD Kennedy Stakes) on Peeping (Redoute’s Choice) for former master Ron Quinton.
“I came to Hong Kong very well prepared. I spent a lot of time studying the racing and the form before I arrived. I sought a lot of advice from people like Tommy Berry, Darren Beadman and Ron (Quinton) whom I still speak to two or three times a week.
“I knew I had to be very fit so I worked on that. I knew I’d be thrown in at the deep end so I got here early to be well prepared, do some ground work and be seen to be working hard. I thought I was ready when I rode at my first meeting but really I was still pretty overwhelmed. My eyes were popping out of my head,” Clipperton said.
The young jockey, who grew up around Sydney’s northern beaches and whose family had no racing connections, nonetheless was happy to persevere.
“I kept at it and once I was here, the other more experienced Aussie jockeys like Zac (Purton), Brett (Prebble) and Nash (Rawiller) were happy to offer advice and keep my spirits up. Nash said ‘don’t change the way you ride, just put your style into Hong Kong’ which gave me reassurance,” Clipperton said.
Clipperton says Rawiller’s 16 year-old son Campbell has become his ‘best mate’ despite the age difference. “He’s very mature and a great kid. Bit like a little brother, I suppose. He’s around the trainer’s hut every morning,” Clipperton.
Clipperton has been joined, in Hong Kong, by his partner Morgan Meyer who’s studying sports science and nutrition. “Obviously it’s great to have her here. You need another focus here as it can be quite mentally draining.
“Even so, we love the place, doing new things and I love the racing here. I think here you have to be a bit sharper on and off the track than at home. I’ve been fortunate to have good support from John Moore and from several of the local trainers,” he said.
Clipperton, whose affinity with horses began with a chance trail ride when on a family holiday and progressed to show jumping and eventing, credits Quinton and his wife Margaret – who died in January this year – as having the greatest influence on his career.
“I am now so glad Margaret was able to come up here the month before she died. I lived with Ron and Margaret for four years and they were like parents to me,” he said.
Clipperton, at the time of her funeral, also said: “Ronnie showed me how to ride and to become a man, Margaret did everything else. She was always there to help me. When I went to Hong Kong she used to ring every week, sometimes more than once, and talk to me about everything but racing.”
Clipperton is hopeful that Hong Kong might prove to be his ‘gateway to the rest of the world’ as he continues to hone his craft.
“I’m constantly watching replays, critiquing what I do and trying to learn from what other jockeys do in a race. I see myself staying here for quite some time but I’ve got goals in Australia and around the world and hopefully riding here can be a pathway. You look at guys like Hughie (Bowman) and Tommy (Berry) who’ve enhanced their reputations riding here and I strive to be like them. I’m not there yet but, at some point, I’d like to be considered among the very best,” he said.