Greg Carpenter is enjoying his new role as the Head of the Racing at Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Carpenter, who during the year left his role as Chief Handicapper at Racing Victoria after a 17-year tenure, is loving his time in Hong Kong.
“I’m loving it (the new role), I’ve been here for 10 weeks since today and have settled in really well,” Carpenter told Giddy Up with Gareth Hall on Tuesday.
“It’s obviously an exciting time to be here as we head to HK International Race Day on December 11.
“It’s been an enjoyable 10 weeks so far; head of racing product means that I control the racing fixture and also the handicapping team under Nigel Gray.
“It’s been a very rewarding start to the tour up here, and it is all getting real with Laws Of Indices in the quarantine stables at Sha Tin.”
The veteran racing executive, who played a pivotal role in the introduction of the $5 million All-Star Mile mentioned that such a challenge overseas is something he has always wanted to add to his stacked resume.
“I was always looking forward to the challenge and excitement of moving up to the Hong Kong Jockey Club which is undoubtedly the leading racing jurisdiction in the northern hemisphere if not the world,” he said.
“You look at Hong Kong racing from afar and marvel at the level of competitiveness of the racing at every meeting and the excitement of Happy Valley on a Wednesday night under lights.
“The level of interest in horse racing here in Kong is incredible and racing fans around the world watch the meetings on Wednesday and the weekends very closely.
“It’s high pressure, it’s extraordinarily competitive with an outstanding cohort of jockeys which has been strengthened just recently.
“For me, the highlight is just that every race is so competitive in owners, trainers and jockeys striving to get to win a race up here.
Carpenter has also enjoyed the sheer competitiveness of the races in Hong Kong and mentioned leading jockeys such as Zac Purton among others are a joy to watch.
“He’s (Purton) enormously driven and just wants to win every race and he is focusing this season on trying to hopefully get to a record number of winners,” he added.
“He’s already ridden seven in a meeting up here this year and he recently rode five on the weekend.
“He’s an extraordinarily talented rider but a very competitive person by nature and it is a joy actually to watch him race and ride at each meeting but there are a lot of other very talented riders.”
This is the second time Carpenter has worked in Asia, having first worked in the region for the Malayan Racing Association from 1995 to 2000.