Brett Crawford has labelled his impending move to Hong Kong “the opportunity of a lifetime” after the South African was officially unveiled by the Jockey Club at Sha Tin on Friday morning.

Crawford, who has 38 Group One victories to his name among almost 1,500 career winners, will join the Hong Kong training ranks for the 2025-26 season.

“I’ve been training in South Africa for many years and I have always been interested in moving to Hong Kong,” Crawford said.

“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.

“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime and I’m very thankful for the privilege to be granted a licence in Hong Kong.

“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.”

Crawford will be the second South African on the roster, joining Douglas Whyte, and he follows in the footsteps of the likes of Tony Millard and David Ferraris.

“Knowledge is key for me in any industry, so the more you can learn from other people, I think it puts you in a good stead going forward. Obviously I have spoken to Mr Millard as well as Mr Ferraris and I know them both very well,” Crawford said.

Crawford’s appointment comes soon after the blistering Sha Tin victory of South African import Mid Winter Wind – one of the first gallopers to enjoy the smoother passage to Hong Kong created by a recent change in quarantine protocols – and the Jockey Club will hope the 53-year-old can help to drive an increase in the sourcing of horses from his home country.

“When we came to look for an outstanding talent to recruit from South Africa to join the training ranks in Hong Kong, frankly the natural choice was Brett Crawford,” Andrew Harding, the Jockey Club’s executive director of racing, said.

“I am absolutely delighted that he and his partner Gwen have made the decision to join us here and I look forward to him making an outstanding contribution to the world-class nature of Hong Kong racing.

“An important point to reinforce is the connection that Hong Kong has with South Africa in the form of the best that we can attract in terms of international talent in training.

“[Our goal] for some years has been to work with the industry in South Africa and the international organisations – the World Organisation for Animal Health – to achieve a facilitation of horse movements from South Africa and we’re very pleased that over the last 18 months we’ve seen a breakthrough on that front.”