Sunday, December 12th, 2004: A nervous young jockey from Liverpool gazes round a star-studded Sha Tin paddock ahead of his ride on Andrew Balding’s Phoenix Reach in the Gr1 Hong Kong Vase over 2400m and wonders whether he truly belongs.
Graham Cunningham writes that Frankie Dettori doesn’t have a care in the world; Olivier Peslier, Christophe Soumillon and Gerald Mosse have seen it all before; and Douglas Whyte, Michael Kinane and Kieren Fallon wear the sort of steely gazes that suggest you wouldn’t want to play poker with them.
There wasn’t a catchy term for feelings of self-doubt brought on by pressurised situations back then.
But there is now. And the man who rides Pyledriver in this year’s LONGINES Hong Kong Vase recognises the symptoms of Imposter Syndrome all too well.
Martin Dwyer wins the 2004 Hong Kong Vase aboard Phoenix Reach (Pic- HKJC)
“You do start to question yourself when you go abroad for those big international races for the first time,” says Martin Dwyer.
“You don’t tell anyone, of course, but it’s there deep down. Doubt does creep in and Phoenix Reach was the horse who helped me get over that.”
Dwyer’s pre-race nerves back in 2004 weren’t helped at the start when it emerged that Phoenix Reach’s bridle had broken and it took some sharp thinking to solve the problem.
“My horse was wearing blinkers and the starter said he would have to be scratched if we took them off to replace the bridle,” he says. “You can imagine how hard my heart was beating by this point and I could hear a few jockeys saying ‘take that one in.’
“I couldn’t blame them as senior riders use all sorts of little tricks to get an edge, but there was a great horseman called Fergus Gallagher on the stalls team. It was a scary moment right in front of a huge crowd but luckily my horse didn’t flinch as Fergus replaced the bridle while I stood and held him.”
The rest, as they say, is history. Phoenix Reach was a 26-1 shot having finished sixth in the Gr1 Japan Cup over 2400m two weeks earlier but he stalked the leaders in his new red headgear and struck for home halfway up the home straight.
Dettori loomed large aboard Godolphin raider Sights On Gold soon after but Dwyer had kept something in reserve and Phoenix Reach held on gamely by half a length as the pair drew clear of Peslier on the French-trained favourite Vallee Enchantee.
Watch the replay here from 17 years ago – please click here
“Breaking through on the global stage is a massive moment for any jockey,” adds Dwyer. “I’m not one for wild celebrations but I did wave the whip after passing the post. Frankie came across to congratulate me and I just remember the whole trip as a mind-blowing experience.”
Phoenix Reach gave Dwyer another memorable success in the Gr1 Dubai Sheema Classic at Nad Al Sheba in March 2005 and his stock reached a new high back in Britain the following summer when he threaded Sir Percy through the narrowest of gaps to prevail in a dramatic four-way finish for the Gr1 Epsom Derby.
But top-level glory remains elusive for all bar a select few and, like his beloved Everton FC, Dwyer has spent most of the last 15 years performing consistently in the middle of the Premier League hoping for the arrival of a genuine star to take on the Galacticos again
