Lyle Hewitson in Hong Kong

manwatweet wrote: 22 years young.

.....yes and that is part of the problem.....had much of his local success shaped for him by his support system.....over there is is out of his depth and will continue to battle..... 141 rides to find the line.....that could be mighty confidence sapping even for seasoned and more worldly riders....:huh:
Hong Kong in this case can only teach perseverance but in doing so deprive one of better strike rates ,better horses and reputation....also race riding is not cricket so breaking a duck or a poor batting spell is not going to suddenly turn your fortune around in an instant.....:whistle:

The SA press are praising him..... But the article below from the racing post are classing it up there with one of the worst sporting runs

141st-time lucky: jockey finally ends painful losing streak in Hong Kong
Lyle Hewitson: finally ended a run of 140 losers in Hong Kong

By James Stevens
UPDATED 4:59PM, DEC 30 2019

After a record losing streak of 140, jockey Lyle Hewitson has finally ridden his first winner in Hong Kong.

In echoes of Sunderland's miserable 2002-03 season, when they lost their final 15 Premier League games, or serial racehorse loser Quixall Crosset, Hewitson must have wondered where a win was coming from.

But the South African-born 22-year-old broke the record for the longest losing streak in Hong Kong history when partnering Last Kingdom to land the last race on Sunday's card at Sha Tin.

Hewitson enjoyed a rapid rise to stardom in South Africa. He became the first apprentice to win the jockeys' title in more than 40 years in the 2017-18 campaign, before retaining that title with 219 winners last season. He moved to Hong Kong in September.

Hewitson told Hong Kong Racing: “Someone said that hard work brings good luck – I can tell you I have been putting in the hard yards. It's a cauldron of fire here; if you’re not doing well you can burn to ashes if you let it.

“I carried on with my optimism and positive attitude. I was lucky enough to find someone like Douglas [Whyte, trainer] who was happy to give me the opportunity.”

He added: “I was pretty relaxed and really happy with the result, but when I got back and saw the smile on the face of the owner and someone like Douglas who has given me opportunities, I got a little bit emotional."

Last Kingdom was a Graded winner in France before transferring to Hong Kong. He made every yard and knuckled down bravely to win in a tight finish to the closing mile handicap.


Last Kingdom's trainer Douglas Whyte, a former South African jockey who switched to Hong Kong, added: "As I have always said, Hong Kong can be a very difficult place and Lyle has had a really tough introduction.

“For me, he has been riding well and has given horses plenty of opportunities; he just needed an ounce of luck.

"It was the ride that won the race and well done to him, he deserved it. He should realise that the ride won him the race.”
Other famous sporting losing runs

Sunderland 15 Premier League defeats: In a dire run at the end of the 2002-03 season Sunderland picked up just one point between Boxing Day and the end of the season in May. Their losing streak was a record and the Black Cats were relegated with just 19 points.

Quixall Crosset, the 103-race maiden: Described as Britain's worst racehorse, Quixall Crossett's Wikipedia page claims the famous loser "failed to demonstrate the slightest trace of any racing ability". He raced 103 times, failing to win, and was retired in 2001. In Japan, Haru Urara captured the nation's heart for his famous 113-race losing run.

Detroit Lions, 19 successive NFL defeats: It took almost two years and 19 defeats for the Lions to end their hopeless run of form between 2007 and 2009. Their 2008 campaign saw them lose all 16 games, before finally ending the run with a win over the Redskins the following year.

Robin Deakin, 51 consecutive boxing defeats: He calls himself 'Real Life Rocky Balboa' but his record is far from box office. After 51 straight defeats – and a nine-year wait – he beat Deniss Kronilovs on points in 2015.

Britain's worst football team, Fort William: In July 2019, Scottish side Fort William ended a horrendous 73-match winless run, across 840 days. They have won just once in the Scottish Highland Football League this season.

FIRST PUBLISHED 12:53PM, DEC 30 2019
It's a cauldron of fire here; if you’re not doing well you can burn to ashes if you let it.

......the problem with us punters we are dimwits......punting sentimentally is a sure way to the poor house as we lack realism.....a statistical punter would not have had a bean on that winner with those stats.......and even including the horse.....statistically Frankel off spring have far lower success on AW and sand tracks and a less liking to less than firm going.....:blush:

Test


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.....Lyle could follow up today.....not because he broke his duck........I believe his support system is in town.....

.....actually 4 of his mounts were on horses that I have been following......absolute loon prices but imo fair specimens
.....finally he gets my lucky no 13 into the frame at R31/drum......:woohoo:

Muhtiman wrote: .....don't get me wrong but if Lyle is able to stay.....he may land up with similar stats as that of Bayliss and imo Lyle is 10 times better.....but without the ability to access horse potential.....man it is going to be a hard slog.....Lyle is a top rider however his local successes were due to the fact that he got in at the right stables with much better fire power
.....and like another good youngster Khumalo got to the top because he had the right people finding rides that were much better to get the type of strike rates that now Warren Kennedy is getting.....Warren has always been a good rider but did not have the support he has now.....in closed racing jurisdictions like Hong Kong the horse population is limited and has no really bad horses nor do they have throngs of really good horses and the abilities are pretty much the same.....this is why I quipped that Frankels outside of UK were "mediocre".....case in point Lyles 1st winner yesterday.....left Andre Fabre in France a 3 time winner one a Gr3 out of 6 runs......has battled in HK.....but I have been following it through thick and thin as I thought it was a much better specimen.....and seeing that Lyle was on it I decreased my swinger boxed bet but went big on places.....only because I thought that odds would blow out (as they did)......imo it was not much of a good ride.... but a lucky one as Lyle went out to steal the race with a mad pace....on a sloppy all weather surface ....and it worked.....:oops:

.......now we have all his supporters saying he is world class.....but watching the the race.....it was pure arse I really thought he had bottled it and would be dead at the 50 but lucky that the chasers caught the splash back....but I do hope he gets much better chances to really show that he is a better rider....:whistle:[/quote

It actually was a BRILLIANT RIDE by all means. Judging by the SECTIONAL TIMES...it was brilliant. Many FRONTRUNNING JOCKS who is masters of the craft do exactly what he did....Chadwick and GVN comes to mind...both of them do exactly what lyle did in this race...

Ill explain it...

The 1st sectional time was the MAIN KEY....it was abt 7.2L SLOWER than standard. Which meant he could 'overdo' it a bit to get the others 'of the bit' early on. When the 1st sectional is so slow it is an advantage to those infront...even if they go +6L mid race....especially when they go so quick mid section.His ride on KIRAM was 'poor' as he waited ALMOST TOO long to go there.

The key point is...when a horse gets away with a VERY SLOW sectional infrony (-4L upwards) he will have enough gas to run 2 fast follow up sectionals and still be involved in the finish.

....a moot point....this horse was retired after his next dismal run and the times mean less than diddly......because as I said the track was clearly not up to scratch because of the rain and kick back.....a point to note that when these AW tracks in warmer climates get rained on the wax binder tends to gel and firm up the surface and thus repel water and at some point is firmer than a normal hot day or early evening...... this happens until they begin to get waterlogged
.....therefore one can seriously not use an adverse condition such as that day to use the times no matter how good or bad they may have been....:whistle:

Lyle heading to Japan

Brazilian Vagner Borges and South African Aldo Domeyer will rejoin the Hong Kong riding ranks after being granted contracts by the Jockey Club licensing committee on Friday.
February 14, 2020

The two, who spent time at Sha Tin last year, return to the fold while Blake Shinn and Neil Callan – whose licences were due to expire at the end of the month – also received extensions until the end of the term.

A new apprentice, Go Lo King-yeung, also joins the ranks from the end of March after a stint in South Australia.

On the other side, Lyle Hewitson did not apply for an extension, instead opting to take up a short-term stint in Japan, while it was also confirmed that French duo Alexis Badel and Tony Piccone will return to Europe for the summer, but both Hewitson and Badel have extended their stays by one meeting so they can compete at Sha Tin on Sunday, March 1.

Domeyer, 32, came to Hong Kong late last season and made an immediate impact, winning 13 races from 116 rides and earning a six-month contract for this term.

But after competing for the first seven weeks of the season, for four wins and 17 placings from 52 rides, the South African took indefinite leave to go home and join his girlfriend Sharna after the birth of their third child.

In the meantime, he has been riding during the Cape summer season, winning two Group Ones on Met day last month. He returns to action from March 29 and is licensed until the end of the term.

Borgas, a four-time champion in Brazil, competed at the last five meetings of the 2018-19 season and made a positive impression, despite not winning a race.

The 26-year-old, who has won 14 Group Ones, rides lightweight and will be looking to follow in the footsteps of his compatriots Joao Moreira and Silvestre de Sousa. His contract begins on March 1 and goes through until May 31.

Hewitson, a two-time champion in South Africa, struggled to make an impact early in his rookie season, having to wait 140 rides for his first Hong Kong win, but started to make some inroads recently and currently has three victories and 18 placings to his credit.

The 22-year-old won a lot of respect for the way he handled himself in trying circumstances and now heads to Japan for a short-term stint.

South China Morning Post

www.scmp.com

Sure he’s had 3 winners already ( 2 meetings)

.....all that practicing in Hong Kong finally pays off.....

....but very well done as Japan is not at all easy and Japanese connections the most difficult to please....

.....better jocks have failed in Japan and soon got booted...this now is real race riding experience ....just a pity we dont get any coverage here.....the year Dynasty won the July I spent that week end in my hotel bed in Tokyo watching TV on their racing from 4 venues and it was mind blowing....again well done Lyle .....