HomeHorse Classic: Exclusive Interview with Champion Trainer Johann Choi – Insights from Gigi Tang

2023-08-14 19:00:00

HomeHorse ClassicHorse Racing Headlines

Gigi Tang

Update time: 03:00 2023-08-15
Release time: 03:00 2023-08-15

A few days ago, Xiaoji shared in my blog the details of the owner of the “Charm” and “Zhiyu” horses, Gigi Tang, exploring and riding horses in the Beas River in Sheung Shui. This time, I interviewed her about her impressions of her long-time friend and 12-time champion trainer Johann Choi.
Gigi Tang said: “The competition in Hong Kong horse training is fierce. Johann Choi became the champion for 12 times, which is really commendable. He is very hardworking, good at maintaining the courage of the horses, and knows the horses’ temperament like the back of his hand. John Choi is very concerned about the health of the horses. He has a friendly attitude towards the stable staff, the success of a stable depends on the cooperation of the stable staff, and the staff of Cai Zhen respect and like John Tsai very much.”
Gigi Tang believes that Johann Choi is not only good at training horses, but also good at training assistant trainers. Rong Tianpeng, Luo Fuquan and Wu Pengzhi taught by him can all become independent horse trainers. Gigi Tang said: “John Choi is willing to pass on his valuable training skills and experience to the assistant trainer. This kind of mind is commendable. In addition, what I admire most is that he can withstand tremendous pressure and is still calm at the critical moment of the championship Don’t force, don’t mess yourself up, and have a profound way.”
Gigi Tang continued to share: “I visit the horses from time to time. If John Tsai has something to ask me, he can talk to me face to face. I remember many years ago, I received a call from John Tsai suddenly. I was worried about the health of the horse, so I asked him immediately. : “Why did you call me?” Afterwards, I felt a little offended. Fortunately, John Tsai understood that I was just nervous about the horse. Now that John Tsai calls me, the first thing he says is don’t worry, the horse is fine , I just talked about other things. It’s funny to think about it.”
Gigi Tang mentioned that in 2019, Johann Tsai suggested to her that “Charming Confidant” compete in the Macau-Hong Kong Cup and thought the chances of winning were quite high, but Gigi Tang considered that Lily (the late horse owner Zheng Shifeng) was not too keen on horses going out Expedition, so I refused. Later, “Charming Confidant” won the 2019 Chinese New Year Cup. Riding this horse, Moreira told Gigi Tang after the race that he was also surprised that the horse did not run in the Macau-Hong Kong Cup, but it might be better to switch to the Chinese New Year Cup, because Winning this cup is also very meaningful. Gigi Tang said: “It can be seen from this incident that John Choi respects my wishes very much. Apart from winning the horse, he will also be considerate of the horse owner. John Choi is a champion trainer. Basically, his horse deployment is the best. There was no need to consult me ​​for the decision, and I really appreciate him.”
Gigi Tang had a very good luck in breeding horses last season. “Charming Zhiyu”, “Mingxin Zhiyu” and “Zhisheng Chance” all delivered good results. She thinks the most memorable winner is “Zhisheng Chance” at the end of last season. Qiansimi had an upset win. She said, “Both ‘Charming Zhiyu’ and ‘Mingxin Zhiyu’ won immediately. I was pleasantly surprised by their performance. As for the most memorable thing is ‘Zhisheng Chance”s upset victory over Tiancao last season. In the 1400m, this horse won three wins in the 1200m in the previous season. Since last season, it has been unable to keep up with the pace of the 1200m. John Choi and I both think that it has slowed down and needs to increase its distance. John Tsai suggested that it should increase its distance. In the 1,400-meter run, the horse’s own score has been lowered a lot, and with the heavy rain that day, his running performance was very good, so I was overjoyed by the surprise performance, and of course I have to admire John Tsai’s wise deployment.”

1692059167
#Gigi #Tang

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.