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Jockey’s earnings explode after leaving stingy UK as trainers here complain about prize money

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JOCKEY Silvestre De Sousa has seen his earnings explode to ridiculous levels since leaving the stingy UK for Hong Kong.

Sun Racing told you last September how the Brazilian rider, 42, was turning his back on Blighty for a better living in the Far East.

And it has turned out to be a massively lucrative move that now sees him earning NINE times more per race.

Back here, three-time champion Flat jockey De Sousa was making around £2,000 per ride.

That money would get divvied up between the jockey, connections and trainer.

But in Hong Kong he is raking in just under £18,000 a ride according to the latest figures in the Jockey Standings.

Even as I type he is just banged in a winner worth £49,169 in a Class 5 handicap – utterly unbelievable figures compared to Britain.

The King’s trainer Ralph Beckett highlighted as much when he posted a photo on Twitter lamenting the prize money on offer at Thirsk next Tuesday.

The biggest races on the day were worth £3,780 to the winner – 13 times less than the race De Sousa won.

Beckett struck a big line through the races and captioned the photo: “Prize money.”

The figures simply bring shame on British racing when compared to De Sousa’s earnings.

One of the world’s best jockeys and a Nunthorpe winner as recently as 2021, his UK earnings for the following year totalled £718,000 from 350 rides.

In Hong Kong he has made £6.4m from 343 rides this season.

Speaking of his decision to go back to the cut-throat Sha Tin racing scene, De Sousa said: “It’s great to be back in Hong Kong – it hasn’t changed much, life still goes at 100mph.

“There is nowhere else in the world like it and the racing is just as fast-paced.

“I would never say never to returning to the UK, but to be honest I was ready for a new challenge and this was too good an opportunity to miss.

“I ride out every morning and even though they only have a couple of meetings a week you spend a lot of your free time making connections and meeting with people in racing.

“Networking is a part of the job of a jockey over here, I have regular catch ups with owners and trainers, you can’t afford to be complacent.

“If you don’t answer the phone or you don’t see a text message straight away you will lose a ride, it’s as simple as that.

“You have to be on the ball in Hong Kong. It’s very competitive over here and within a couple of minutes another jockey will take your horse.

“And just because you win on a horse it doesn’t mean you’re going to keep the ride. Sometimes several jockeys can have a turn in the same season.

“You can’t afford to make mistakes, if you mess up you won’t ride the horse again. So you have to be very sharp and totally focussed.

“It can be very intense but at the same time, the prize-money and the competition are incredible. It’s an amazing place to ride.”

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.sportingexcitement.com/horse-racing/michael-owen-broke-down-in-tears-at-death-of-woman-25-who-suddenly-collapsed-at-stables-owned-by-ex-liverpool-star/

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