Brett Crawford at Sha Tin racecourse in Hong Kong (Picture: HKJC)
Brett Crawford has 23 horses in his Hong Kong stable to date, with the season set to commence at Sha Tin on Sunday September 7.
His horses range from the Irish-bred 90-rated six-year-old Irish-bred Churchill gelding Encountered down to a 28-rated two-time winner, although the second highest rated horse in his yard is only rated 69, so there is a big gap between the top one and the rest.
Encountered ran twice in England for Marco Botti and won the second of the starts, a Novice event for two-year-olds over seven furlongs at Doncaster under Danny Muscutt. He arrived in Hong Kong with a 67 rating in the 2021/2022 season and won his fourth start for trainer Manfred Man after being dropped to a 63 rating. In the 2022/2023 season he won four times at Happy Valley over 1650m and once at Sha Tin over 1600m, including a hattrick in his last three runs of the season. That saw him raised to a 105 rating and in his second start of the 2023/2024 season he finished second in a Gr 2 handicap over 1600m at Sha Tin. The smart gelding went up to 110 and won a Gr 3 handicap over 1800m next time out. He was raised to 114, but failed to progress further, finishing unplaced in six more starts that season. He was switched to the David Hall yard for the 2024/2025 season and managed two fourths and one fifth in ten starts. That has seen his rating plummet from 107 at the beginning of last season to his current 90. If anybody can get the six-year-old back to his best Brett Crawford can.
Crawford’s horses are Listed below in rating order (click on them to see their profiles).
- ENCOUNTERED (90)
- NUCLEOZOR (69)
- BEAUTY INFINITY (66)
- LEGENDARY YEARS (62)
- EIGHTY LIGHT YEARS (61)
- BALLISTIC WIN (59)
- TOP PEAK (54)
- FOREVER GLORIOUS (53)
- AMO ERGO SUM (52)
- FLASH DRAGON BALL (52)
- JUST FOLLOW ME (52)
- KA YING WARRIOR (50)
- ZHOU GONGJIN (50)
- A LA CHAMP (49)
- WIN SPEED (45)
- RADIANT SWIFT (41)
- GOOD PROSPECT (40)
- ONLY U (40)
- ALL ARE MINE (37)
- YOUNG HORIZON (35)
- SPEEDY SMARTIE (33)
- NINJA DERBY (28)
- DOUBLE SHOW (26)
Crawford’s profile on the HKJC website can be read below:
Brett Crawford
Age: 53
Background:
Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, Brett Crawford has trained in South Africa for many years, becoming an assistant trainer at age 17. Following experience with Eric Sands, Dennis Drier and Mike de Kock, Crawford became prominent owner Sabine Plattner’s private trainer in 2001 before taking out an open licence in 2010. Crawford’s first win was National Beaut – a winner over 1000m at Kenilworth in 2001. He has more than 1,400 races in South Africa, including the Durban July in 2023 (Winchester Mansion) and 2024 (Oriental Charm). He has also won the Cape Town Met three times – 2003 (Angus), 2015 (Futura) and 2017 (Whisky baron) – and trained top talents Captain America, Make It Snappy, Run Fox Run and Northern Superstar (Edict Of Nantes). In South Africa, Crawford struck up an association with Karis Teetan – winning a string of Group 1 races before Teetan’s departure for Hong Kong. In recent times, Crawford has trained in partnership with son James; the duo is based in the Western Cape and has a satellite stable in Johannesburg. Their first Group 1 together came in December, 2024, in the Cape Fillies Guineas with Fatal Flaw.
Achievements:
Six Group 1 wins in a single South African racing season (2016/17).
Notable Wins Include:
Empress Club Stakes (2025 Fatal Flaw), Durban July (2023 Winchester Mansion, 2024 Oriental Charm), Cape Town Met (2003 Angus, 2015 Futura, 2017 Whisky Baron), Queen’s Plate (2015 Futura), Cape Derby (2012 Jackson, 2017 Northern Superstar (Edict Of Nantes)), Cape Guineas (2013 Golden Sleep, 2019 Kilindini), Paddock Stakes (2012 Thunder Dance, 2023 Make It Snappy), Champions Cup (2013 Jackson, 2014 Futura, 2017 Sail South, 2018 Captain America, 2019 Gimme One Night), Cape Fillies Guineas (2018 Front And Centre, 2022 Make It Snappy, 2024 Fatal Flaw).
