Frankie Lor joins the elite training ranks in Hong Kong
FORMER jockey Frankie Lor has been granted his Hong Kong training license after years of working under some of Hong Kong’s greatest horsemen.
The 51-year-old will train out of Sha Tin, starting July 17, and he’s excited to get the opportunity to join the likes of John Moore and Tony Cruz in the high-profile training atmosphere.
“This has been my ambition for a long time, Lor said. “When my career as a jockey finished, I continued to work for the Club and decided I needed to learn more in the stable.
“I think every jockey, when they make that change, they all think that later on they would want to be a trainer here and it was the same for me.
“I’ve put a lot of years and a lot of work into this, so when I heard that I had got the licence I was very happy.
“And then there was a little thought about the next step, that this is a big challenge for me; but it’s a great challenge – one that I am excited about. I am thankful to the Jockey Club for giving me this opportunity.”
Since retiring from riding in 1995, Lor was an assistant trainer for the likes of John Moore and John Size – with Lor completing his four-year apprenticeship with Size on July 16.
Hong Kong Jockey Club Chief Executive, Andrew Harding, believes Lor is the right man to be granted his training license due to this experience, knowledge and ability.
“It’s very easy to understand the decision that has been made by the Licensing Committee to grant Frankie Lor a trainer’s licence,” Harding said. “He is a highly knowledgeable horseman; he has worked with, learnt from, been highly-trusted by and highly-valued by two of Hong Kong’s all-time great trainers.
“He has also applied himself with great dedication to learning as much as he can, including studying breeding, attending overseas sales and visiting other countries to observe first-hand the different training techniques that exist around the world.
“A defining characteristic of Frankie Lor is the respect in which he is held by all those who participate in Hong Kong racing.
“Frankie has demonstrated that he is amply equipped to join the world-class ranks of trainers in Hong Kong.”
John Size, last season’s champion trainer and current premiership leader, believes Lor has the right skills to make the transition and is expecting Lor to be very popular with owners from the word go.
“This is a natural progression for him and I don’t think he’ll have any problem making the adaption from an assistant trainer to a trainer in his own right, Size said. “He will make a seamless transfer.
“He has some very good support from some well-respected owners in the community. He’s good with the staff, he’s good with the horses, he’s good with the owners and that’s just about all you need to do.
“I’d like him to start off with a small number of horses but that’s not going to happen, he’s going to be very popular and he’s going to gather a lot of horses very quickly. He’ll get 100 percent support from myself and the owners that know him, and that will be a big help to him, I hope.
“I think he’ll acquit himself remarkably well and I think he’ll make very fast progress into the job.”
Lor has been in the racing industry for 36 years, which includes time spent with Gerald Ryan, Roger James and he has also gained stud experience in New Zealand at Cambridge Stud and Westbury Stud.
Lor understands the competitive nature of the Hong Kong training environment and is looking forward to training a big team.
“I can’t say how many winners I will have but I hope I will have 30 or 40 horses in my stable to start with and if I can win somewhere between 20 and 30 races I will be happy. I will try my best,” Lor said.
“One thing I have learned from Mr Size is that a horse must be happy and healthy, so I expect I will start a little slowly because I will need to get to know my horses first. It’s important to get a deeper understanding of each horse and ensure they are healthy and happy and then they will naturally maintain fitness and sustain their condition longer.
“I hope I can follow in the footsteps of good trainers like Mr Size and have a very good career.”