Reality television has done wonders for some sports of late – kind of weird in a way, because what are televised live sports if not the ultimate reality TV?
Ever since sports were broadcast on television we have watched our heroes and villains go through the gamut of emotions from the comfort of the couch.
Sports were the original reality shows, and way less stage-managed than some of today’s overly scripted and celebrity-driven baloney.
As usual, when it comes to showbiz, the Yanks still do it best: shows like 24/7 have taken viewers inside the camps of big-name boxers such as Floyd Mayweather Jnr in the lead-up to pay per view fights, and the compelling (and also HBO-produced) Hard Knocks uses unprecedented access to go inside a National Football League’s pre-season training camp, creating drama, setting up storylines and drawing attention to the upcoming season.
Racing desperately needs something similar from a public relations perspective, to break through the famously secretive world of stables and to give a “face to racing”.
There was Jockeys, a cable show in the US that began in 2009, ran for 10 episodes and featured the likes of jockeys Chantal Sutherland, Mike Smith, Gary Stevens and Corey Nakatani – but there hasn’t been anything since then.
So what famous reality TV shows could we relaunch in the Hong Kong racing world?
THE APPRENTICE
In the role first made famous by now-presidential candidate and walking punchline/internet meme Donald Trump, Hong Kong Jockey Club chief Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges would do a great “you’re fired” and we can’t help but think the Jockey Club missed a golden opportunity to fill executive director of racing Bill Nader’s role with the winner of a reality show.
In episode one, contestants are given nothing but a shovel and a two-year Chinese visa, sent on a bus to the middle of Guangdong province and told not to return until the Conghua training centre is built. Hilarity ensues as the wannabe racing execs look to complete the 160-hectare training centre within tight deadlines.
PROJECT RUNWAY
Let’s face it, racing is stuck in the olden days equivalent of black and white television and it is in desperate need of a makeover. Luckily, Hong Kong racing boasts not only two of the most stylish men in racing, but the world. Olivier Doleuze makes the most of his injury-enforced layoff to join fellow Frenchman Gerald Mosse on a judging panel, along with fashionista and blogger Nicole Purton, wife of champion jockey Zac.
The aim? Give Hong Kong’s horse trainers a much-needed red carpet stylist session. Cringe as John Moore attempts to extoll the virtues of 1970s fashion to Doleuze and claim “the colonials had it right” when it came to safari suits as warm weather attire (“No John, having a suit in navy blue or black does not make it cool.”).
Manfred Man Ka-leung also mounts an argument for the practical but decidedly daggy short-sleeved shirt and tie combination, dubbing it “the Homer Simpson look”. Dennis Yip Chor-hong and his own fashion label make him a clear favourite for this one.
SURVIVOR
Flimsy alliances, double-crossing, backstabbing and a desperate “every man for himself mentality”. Entries day for a Hong Kong race meeting is a ruthless, catch and kill your own festival of who can tell the best lies. So the vying for rides already has a lot in common with the king of reality shows: Survivor.
Pretty sure we are on to a winner here – just take Sha Tin’s highly competitive jockey colony and transport them to a deserted island and watch them go. Probably no need for any games – it’s all going to fall apart Lord of the Flies style. For an added twist, team them up in pairs – pairs that are deliberately made to make for awkward viewing and explosive arguments. Let’s see what happens when arch rivals Zac Purton and Douglas Whyte are forced to lean on each other for survival.
Odd-couple Nash Rawiller and Howard Cheng Yue-tin could even reprise their winning combination from the preseason carnival sprint. And how will the Hong Kong-raised lads survive without a 7-Eleven less than a block away?
But if anyone thinks the dominance of Joao Moreira wouldn’t be transferred from the racetrack to tropical island survival, they are sadly mistaken. As revealed to SCMP last season, back in Brazil, Moreira earned the Portuguese nickname macaco as a kid for his ability to shimmy up the trunk of palm trees as a kid, and admits to having caught a fish and eaten it live in his hands – just for a snack – when he was young. It’s gonna be tough to beat that type of rough and ready ability to fend for yourself.
