Brett Crawford "Hong Kong here I come"

Crawford, 53, follows the likes of former South African-based handlers Tony Millard (709 Hong Kong wins) and David Ferraris (460) by switching tacks to Hong Kong as he was welcomed at Sha Tin this morning (Friday, 7 February) by Executive Director, Racing, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Mr Andrew Harding, at a press briefing.

“When we came to look for an outstanding talent to recruit from South Africa to join the ranks of training in Hong Kong frankly the natural choice was Brett Crawford. He has achieved great success with some 38 Group 1 wins, and has all of the attributes we look for including the experience of dual-site training,” Mr Andrew Harding said.

“We are delighted that he and his partner Gwen have made the decision to join us, and I look forward to him making an outstanding contribution to Hong Kong’s world-class racing.”

Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, Crawford has worked his entire life in horse racing, including with some of South Africa’s best trainers – Eric Sands, Dennis Drier and Mike de Kock. He became an assistant trainer at age 17.

“I’ve been training in South Africa for many years, and I have always been interested in moving to Hong Kong. I’m very pleased that I have been granted the opportunity to come to Hong Kong. The integrity and professionalism of The Hong Kong Jockey Club is what attracted me to Hong Kong racing, for me, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime and I’m very thankful for the privilege to be granted a license in Hong Kong,” Crawford said.

“It’s (Hong Kong) basically a global stage and it’s probably one of the few places in the world that has talent from all over the world competing against each other, so without a doubt it definitely makes you bring out the best in yourself and I think for me that’s probably the greatest challenge that I am looking forward to.”

Formgrids extends best wishes to Brett Crawford.

Brett's 2024 July winner WINCHESTER MANSION

List of Brett's latest Graded winners