HK assistant trainer follows in the footsteps of his boss

Chris So, assistant to the powerful Hong Kong trainer Casper Fownes, has arrived in Australia for a month-long knowledge building experience with the Hawkes Racing stable.

Hawkes Racing co-trainer Michael Hawkes said the 41-year old is undergoing training as part of the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s program for developing new trainers.

"They do things different up there compared to here and that’s why he is here to gain all the knowledge he can,” Hawkes said.

So experienced his first Australian winner when promising three-year-old Nitro won the Ascot Club Plate (1250m) at Canterbury on Wednesday.

"He’s got ability but he is not a wet tracker and is going to be a better horse next time around,” Hawkes said after the win.

"He is still a bit of a kid, with a big motor.”

So, who arrived in Sydney on Saturday, said the way things are done in Australian racing has been somewhat of a culture shock.

"Everything is a big difference. We have only two tracks; here there are so many,” he said.

"In our stable in Hong Kong we have sixty horses and almost forty people working for us.”

So’s boss Casper Fownes also spent time with the Hawkes camp several years ago before taking over fully fledged training duties from his father Lawrie in the 2003/04 Hong Kong racing season.

Fownes, 43, is a two-time premiership winning trainer in Hong Kong having been successful in the 2006/07 and 2008/09 seasons.

His feature race wins include the Group I Hong Kong Mile of 2006, the Group I Hong Kong Derby in 2009 as well as the Group I KrisFlyer International Sprint in Singapore in 2010.

Fownes currently sits in 4th place on the Hong Kong trainers premiership with 54 winners.

So also said he was unfazed by the transition from balmy Hong Kong to the chilly wet weather currently gripping Sydney.

"It’s nice. Very good for horses.”

Story: Aaron Mills RaceNet

Photo: Martin King www.sportpix.com.au