Jockey Douglas Whyte knows it can't last forever. But he is determined to hang on as long as he can, as King of the Happy Valley race course and this year is aiming for ten straight years as Champion Jockey. Timothy Chui reports.

"There are a lot of people who are gunning to knock me off the pedestal, so I just have to throw everything at it and retain it, that's all," writes Douglas Whyte aka the Durban Demon as he sets his sights to become Hong Kong's Champion Jockey for a tenth straight year.

Whyte's record of 1,100 career wins on the racing oval eclipses that of even the legendary Tony Cruz, who hung up the racing silks and turned trainer after 946 wins. With every other rider on the circuit aiming at the target on Whyte's back, Hong Kong racing fans have found a new intensity in the sport. Whyte's having a pretty good year. Already he's won this year's Mercedes Benz Hong Kong Derby but he's getting heat from Australian rider Brett Prebble. Racing fans ask, could Prebble be the one to topple the reigning king of the Hong Kong horse racing circuit?

"Overall he's made it much more competitive here," Happy Valley punter Ken Mortell says of Whyte. "He does have quite an effect on the odds of his horses and there's a bit of head-to-head such as the competition between him and (Brett Prebble). It has brought a new sense of drama and celebritydom to the sport and its great to watch," Mortell adds.

"He's been a very competitive jockey for the past decade. He's just the man to beat and everyone is chasing him. He's had a very profound peer effect on other jockeys. Because of Douglas, the sport is much more competitive," said an editor at the venerable racing publication Racing World magazine who did not wish to be identified.

"Because he's been here for more than a decade, he's got a great relationship with trainers and owners and this means everyone needs to work that much harder because Douglas works so hard," he added.

The spry South African rode into Hong Kong in 1997, the year the former colony became a Special Administrative Region of China, when former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping promised that under the "one country, two systems" policy, the people of Hong Kong would have the "same horse racing" and the "same dancing".

"In his profession, it is tough to get to the top and even tougher to stay there. To have this opportunity to win the premiership for ten consecutive seasons is something we may never witness again in Hong Kong or any major racing jurisdiction. It is remarkable," Executive Director of Racing at the Hong Kong Jockey Club William Nader said.

"His proven ability to win races earns him the respect of trainers, jockeys and racing fans," he said.

On and off the track, Whyte's determination, methodical preparation and calculated style are well-known. They are fueled by a desire to win cultured during adolescence.

"My mother begged and pleaded with me from a young age not to be a jockey. She was happy to let me carry on riding, but certainly tried with all her power to influence me not to be a jockey. My dad passed away when I was nine; he was a jockey, and she knew what it entailed."

"I was that adamant, and when you're that adamant at that age, forced to make your own decision from a teenager, it probably gives you that much more determination that you have to succeed," he said.

In a way, the stubborn drive was inherited from his mother, who, in a near comical tit-for-tat, declined his invitation to quit her job as a teacher, refusing to leave her South African classroom for retirement.

Whyte has paid a price for ignoring his mum's advice. She warned him he was headed for a life of back and knee problems. He's suffered neck and shoulder injuries from falls and hammered knees and feet from jerky starts at the gate.

"If I showed you my feet, I don't think you'd believe what they look like! I've got bones sticking out all over," Whyte wrote on his blog.

As a jockey, Whyte has to worry about his weight. He avoids the temptation of sweets in any form. It goes with the job. The South African jockey fights to stay in top form.

His family has also had to shoulder some of the burdens that come with his career. His wife had to live with the postponement of their honeymoon for two years before settling on a quaint villa in Italy - the same country where his parents had their own post-nuptial getaway. Whyte bought some property there, stables retired horses and stocks wine.

Whyte is a busy man. On days when he's not racing, he's on his mount well before the crack of dawn, doing a string of media interviews an hour after sunrise. He continues to ride until 8.30 am, then heads out for meetings with trainers and owners, "sussing out my rides for the coming week, studying my track work and the horses I'm going to be galloping. There is always a lot of work to be done and my day is never empty," he said.

Then he hits the books before spending some time with the kids before going to be around the time most people sit down for supper.

Married with two children, Whyte's first love has always been horses. His first friend was a horse - Cherokee whom he befriended in Johannesburg. That was at age two and before he had made any other childhood friends.

Off the track, he passes what little free time he has listening to Johannesburg radio, 94.7 Highveld Stereo, collecting cigars and wines, riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle, playing tennis, and watching South African rugby and Formula One racing.

Although Whyte has to exercise superhuman abstinence, the appetites he does allow himself to indulge are a taste for Ferraris and Tagliata con Rucala.

He's a fan of Australian actors and American actresses. Whyte also idolizes Rafael Nadal, drawing parallels between himself and the champion Spaniard.

"It's his enthusiasm, his perseverance and his sheer determination to win that I love, and I respect him for that. He gives 100 percent and loves what he does, and I can visualize a little bit of myself in him," he said.

Their shared status as number one in their respective fields was more of a coincidence, he said.

"I didn't expect to be where I am today when I first arrived, but came with the initiative to be successful, to leave or make an imprint of some sort. I didn't see myself here for 12 years, came for three months and that turned into 12 years," he said.

Part of the draw that kept him in town was the city's status as a racing mecca, he said.

"Hong Kong just bites people and it's some of the best racing in the world and year round, with probably some of the best horses and trainers; competition is fierce and there's not one day you can get bored or slack off because some one is there to gobble you up in a second."

"There's still a lot of energy and mileage left in me, and I'll know when it's time and I won't be hovering around at the bottom of the ladder. If I'm not in the top three, I'll know it's time for me to move on to greener pastures and be competitive and make a name for myself somewhere else," he said.

But far from counting his remaining days, Whyte is focused at the task at hand, his tenth Champion Jockey title.

"This season, I've had such a challenge from Brett, and you hear rumors, people saying (I'm) done, (I've) got nothing left, (my) time is over. That sort of thing drives me, lights a fire inside of me that will take everything to put out," he said.

"So when they tell me I'm done and no good anymore, I now have a point to prove and when I prove that point, I enjoy watching people backstep and close their mouths," he said, adding, "I won't make a bold statement but I will certainly make eye contact with them and watch them swallow and savor it."

With his total prize money earned on the horseback pegged at HK$895 million, Whyte is adamant he is not in it for the money. "Money is not what brought me to Hong Kong and money is not what made me a jockey. I've got a passion for riding, a passion for horses and I absolutely love what I do."

"I was just as happy when I was in South Africa riding for peanuts," he admits, but he's not likely to leave Hong Kong anytime soon.

Even though he cited the European and Australian circuits as areas he'd like to touch on before retiring, he stands by his decision to stay in town and bask in his title as the city's greatest jockey.

"Unfortunately I had a choice to make: do I stay in Hong Kong and be as competitive and successful as I have been, or do I leave and go try Europe? Hong Kong's been so good to me, I had to make a decision and I did, and I thought it would be the wrong thing to do to kick Hong Kong in the teeth and walk away when I have so many followers, so many supporters and so much recognition," he said.

(HK Edition 05/27/2010 page6)