Ricky Ludwig has never been out of Australia – not even for a holiday.

But this week, the 72-year-old from Far North Queensland will venture to Hong Kong to witness first-hand if another chapter will be added to the remarkable story of his former galloper, Tomodachi Kokoroe.

“I watch him on TV when he’s racing,” Ludwig said. “The horse has come a long way.”

Ludwig will complete the same journey as Tomodachi Kokoroe – from the small rural town of Tolga to Sha Tin racecourse, where the David Hayes-trained gelding has risen to become one of Hong Kong’s fastest sprinters behind the world’s best, Ka Ying Rising.

Ludwig, who trained gallopers near Brisbane for decades before making the move to Tolga, regularly scours online sales hoping to find a diamond in the rough.

In early 2022, lot one on an Inglis Digital sale caught his eye.

“I had a couple of Written Tycoons before him and I love them,” Ludwig recalls.

“He was lot one and everyone laughs, but he was born on my birthday – October 5 – so I thought ‘he’ll be a good one, I’ve got to buy him’.”

The horse named Bank Bank Bank had had three starts for the late Mike Moroney in Victoria, managing one third before he was put up for sale.

“I rang Mike and he just said ‘I don’t really want to sell him, but the owner told me to put him online because he couldn’t afford it any more’,” said Ludwig.

“You never know when you’re buying second-hand horses, but there was nothing wrong with him. We were only going to go to A$24,000 (HK$123,710) because I’m limited in what I can spend, but I went over that and got him for A$25,000.”

When Bank Bank Bank made the long trip from Melbourne to Tolga, with a stopover at Caloundra in between, Ludwig liked what he saw – “a big, powerful horse” – but noted he was “nothing special” until his first gallop.

“He was a maiden galloping with one that had won three in a row in the bush – no world beater, but he just played with it,” Ludwig said.

“Dave Crossland was a top rider up here and rode him. I said ‘can we win a race at Atherton?’ and he said ‘mate, he’ll win wherever you take him. I’m telling you, he’s the best horse I’ve ever ridden’.

“He rode Tyzone, who won a [Group One] Stradbroke Handicap, and he said ‘this horse is better’. It’s a big statement until they race, but he was right.”

Bank Bank Bank made his first start for Ludwig in a 950m maiden at Cairns in June 2022, bolting in by almost seven lengths despite racing greenly.

“He shied at the winning post and almost tipped the jockey off because he went that quick,” Ludwig said.

“He won his next two easy, then I took him to Townsville over carnival time and he won a 1,200m in a class record. Then I took him back there for a 1,400m with top weight and barrier 13 and he still ran a class record, beating them by three or four again.

“That’s when I rang David Chester from Magic Millions. A mate of mine up here had a horse [who Hong Kong owners] had offered money for. He wanted more than what they were offering and I said ‘I’ve got one here that’s as good as that one, I’ll sell him’.”

The only problem was Bank Bank Bank’s low rating at the time ruled him out of meeting the criteria to be sold to Hong Kong. So Ludwig took him back to Cairns, where he won another two races to extend his streak to six and lift his rating in order to be sold.

“At his last start for me I had him in a 950m and bugger me dead, something happened with the track and they dropped it back to 875m,” said Ludwig.

“I thought ‘oh s***, can he win a 875m?’, but he beat them by three or four lengths again. He passed the vet checks and the rest was history.”

Renamed by new owners the Tak Sum Syndicate, Tomodachi Kokoroe struck top form in his second Hong Kong campaign with four victories at Happy Valley, sharing the DBS x Manulife Million Challenge spoils with Copartner Ambition.

But with his rating soaring into the 90s, he battled at the higher level and went 17 straight starts without a victory.

This season, the seven-year-old has made a stunning transformation, reeling off three consecutive victories including the Group Two Premier Bowl (1,200m) in 1:07.39 – the third-fastest 1,200m time ever recorded at Sha Tin, behind only Ka Ying Rising.

Hayes credits the addition of a one-eyed blinker to his gear, while Ludwig believes he has relished being ridden more patiently just behind the speed by Harry Bentley.

On Hong Kong’s biggest stage on Sunday, Tomodachi Kokoroe will again take on Ka Ying Rising when he makes his Group One debut in the Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m).

“It’s going to be a hard ask to beat the favourite, he’s a bloody good horse. If we could run second or third, it would be good,” Ludwig said.

“Everyone says ‘you should have kept him’, but I got my money and I’m happy for those people when he wins.”

Ludwig completely retired from training for a brief time last year, but the urge to find another Bank Bank Bank lured him back to racing.

He doubts he will strike a similar pot of gold again, but he won’t stop trying.

“It was just lucky,” he said. “I’ve got his half-brother who’s a two-year-old now called Bank Interest. I keep looking for another Bank, but I don’t think I’ll find one.”