From a fantasy to a Reality
Nothing seems possible until you achieve it.
Ever since Chris was a young boy, horses were all he dreamed of. Watching Co-Tack and Silver Linning running made him dream of one day becoming a member of the jockey club, and maybe, just maybe, one day he would be able to own a horse.
After years of hard work, determination, and grit, Chris was able to join the jockey club and own his first horse through the American Club syndicate. Chris and his best friend Mike started the Fentons Racing Syndicate in 2005. In 2011, Chris finally owned a horse in his own right, Happy Ball (M307) by More than Ready and through Fentons with Marco Polo (CL311), a horse they bred from the legendary derby winner Lucky Owners (CB454). An impossible dream finally came true. Little did Chris know that this was the start of something special.
Dizzying heights and a Dubai honor
To win a race in Hong Kong is hard enough. To get a champion is once in a lifetime.
Fentons Racing Syndicate struck gold in 2013 with the introduction of Blazing Speed (P192) by Dylan Thomas. Blazing Speed brought all the spoils and bagged 5 Group wins, earning him an 11th place in the Longines World Rankings and winning Champion Stayer in 2015/2016. The family was on a whirlwind of a journey, from struggling to win a race to entering the upper echelons of racing. A trip abroad was in store to Dubai, where Blazing Speed competed in the Dubai World Cup day. Although Blazing Speed was not able to win, the passion and the experience for racing intensified.
A familial passion
Every family has their traditions and passions. For us, horse racing is what keeps us ticking.
After Alexander graduated from his master’s degree and returned to Hong Kong, the family decided to re-enter the racing world once again, but this time as a father and son duo. Chris’s focus and passions are mainly on racing, while Alex enjoys and focuses more on bloodstock work. Together as a team, the father-and-son duo started So Bloodstock to create a systematic approach to sourcing and running thoroughbreds in Hong Kong and abroad. Their interests have evolved to not just racing colts and geldings in Hong Kong, but also include racing fillies to develop potential broodmares. With the help of the legendary John Foote, who is a close friend of the family and Alex’s mentor, the team has been actively attending sales and developing relationships with different stakeholders of the racing world.
A new era in Racing
There is a clear difference between sensitivity and specificity. Our objective is to utilize as much information as possible to increase our specificity to improve our results.
It is extremely difficult to spot the next superstar every single time. Our philosophy towards our horses is to minimize risk and improve our consistency in horse selection, rather than identifying and racing the next superstar. Of course, it is nice to have a superstar, but we believe that our model of operation is what will give us the best opportunity moving forward.
A New vision and direction
With a new generation comes new ideas. It is this blend that drives us forward.
In addition to racing, the family has taken a keen interest in developing in three main areas: Racing, Education, and Technology. Alexander has co-founded and is currently leading the Equine Analytics and Bioinformatics Lab at the University of Hong Kong. He is developing an AI system to analyse confirmation faults and biomechanics. Additionally, he is exploring the genomics of thoroughbreds to develop performance and risk biomarkers. So Bloodstock is also looking to develop educational materials related to equines in order to spread the passion for racing and to inspire young minds to enter the industry with new innovative solutions.