Departing jockey Michael Dee is open to returning to Hong Kong next term, perhaps as early as immediately following Australia’s spring carnivals.
Dee, whose productive short stint in Hong Kong will end after he steers Street Conqueror in the last of Sunday’s 11 contests at Sha Tin, chose not to apply for a full-season Jockey Club licence in 2023-24 because he wants to chase more Group One glory in Australia aboard the likes of Melbourne Cup (3,200m) golden ticket holder Lunar Flare and this year’s Australian Guineas (1,600m) heroine Legarto, who could confront Romantic Warrior in the Cox Plate (2,040m).
Lunar Flare won May’s Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes (2,800m) by five and a half lengths to qualify for November’s Melbourne Cup, and Flemington was also where Dee got the best out of Legarto in her March grand final.
Dee arrived in Hong Kong on May 23 with an open mind about his future. The 11-time Group One-winning jockey has enjoyed his seven weeks in the city, especially his dream debut on Happy Valley winner Starry Night for one of his biggest supporters, David Hayes. The 27-year-old rider can see himself staying for a much longer spell next time. Just not right now.
“It’s been good. Certainly, riding four winners has been the best part, and the highlight was my first ride, which was my first winner,” Dee said.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I knew it would be different from racing in Australia. In Oz, everyone focuses on riding their horses to a rhythm, so they relax and finish off with good turns of foot. In Hong Kong, it’s go, go, go, and get in wherever you can.
“It was a case of seeing how I went in Hong Kong, then weighing up my potential rides in Oz. There are some nice horses I’m looking forward to riding. I didn’t want to miss out on good rides and a good spring. My thought process was, if the opportunity is there, to potentially return to Hong Kong after the Australian spring, early in the new year or at a later date.
“The impression I’m getting from the Jockey Club is the door is open at the moment, but who knows whether things will change later. I’ll play it by ear.”
Dee will steer Texas Moon, Easy Snip, One Heart One, Chilli Baba, Compassion Spirit and Street Conqueror at Sha Tin on Sunday before treating himself to a well-earned break prior to the new Australian season, the official commencement date of which is August 1.
“You could make a case for two or three of them, but then you look at the rest of their respective fields, and there’s probably some $1.8 chances,” Dee said.
“It’d be nice to ride a winner at Sha Tin this weekend because that would take my tally to five wins. After I rode my first winner at Happy Valley, I thought I’d be extremely happy if I could get to five.”
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Not that Dee is complaining about registering only four wins from his 97 Hong Kong starts. His bank balance is much healthier than if he had stayed in Australia during winter in the southern hemisphere.
“I’ve won two Class Threes in Hong Kong. Financially, each of them was equivalent to winning a Group One in Australia after tax back at home,” Dee said.
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