Critta McMullen was placed into the limelight during Sunday’s Hong Kong International Race meeting, footage of his tackle of a protestor who headed out on to the track during the running of the Hong Kong International Cup widely shared across social media.
So who is Critta? We had a chat with the Aussie expat who has called Hong Kong his home for over two decades.
Born into a racing family with his father Ron – who Critta described as “a proper old school horseman” – a trainer and accomplished agronomist who had grown up near Randwick racecourse.
And his mother Carmel a talented rider, Critta noting that “”she could ride anything, including all of Dad’s breakers before us kids got the job.”
No doubt then, Critta was destined for a life with thoroughbreds.
Working at the barriers at Canberra, Queanbeyan and Goulburn, Critta cut his teeth with “quite a number of horses with barrier issues,” picking up knowledge from “the outstanding horseman” Luke Thomas.
Experience which placed him in good stead when the Hong Kong Jockey Club came knocking.
“I was the first person they brought over who they had targeted because I had a decent amount of experience working at the barriers.”
Having been in Hong Kong just a month before (with the Keith Dryden trained Into The Night who contested the International Sprint won by the star galloper Silent Witness), Critta had a “phone call out of the blue” from one of the stewards asking if he’d be interested in making the move.
“I was languishing a bit at the time. I had been NSW Champion Approved Rider for the previous six years and I had lost a lot of drive. I was riding about 20 horses a day at Canberra and then the surrounding farms and I just felt like I wasn’t really going forward. I was excited that it seemed like an opportunity to progress.”
Kicking off his Hong Kong career in the stables of David Ferraris and then Danny Shum, Critta found himself riding “some very good horses.”
Including the outstanding Vengeance Of Rain, the regally bred Zabeel gelding out of the Blue Diamond Stakes winner Danelagh.
“He is the horse I am always linked with,” Critta said, and proudly too! “He was a true champion.”
“I didn’t think Hong Kong would see a horse as good as him over 2000m but he didn’t have longevity as he had a heart problem.”
The winner of ten of his 27 starts, six of those at Group 1 level in Hong Kong and Dubai, Vengeance Of Rain will always sit high on Critta’s list of best horses though he admits that what he is seeing at the moment is exciting.
“Romantic Warrior is obviously a superstar and rightfully takes the mantle of Hong Kong’s best 2000m horse.”
Gaining the position of the HKJC’s assistant starter seven years ago, Critta gets plenty of pleasure from his job.
“I love being hands on with the horses and get great satisfaction in helping a horse enjoy the part of its life which is probably the most unnatural; putting them in the barriers.”
“Hong Kong is a unique environment and we’ve had to adapt the way horses are re-educated at the barriers to suit Hong Kong. If a horse had issues in Australia or England or elsewhere, it would go to a specialized horseman and that would be be the focus. They can work with that horse for a good period of time every day until the horse is ready.”
“Here, there’s only one or two days a week for a short period of time in which all the horses who require that bit of attention can get it.”
Watching previous starters and how they went about the job was an education for Critta who also puts the skills required down to “an innate feeling.”
“And sometimes you learn just as much in regards of what not to do.”
Meeting his wife Alice through mutual friends, the couple are happily settled with their four children into Hong Kong life with Critta – a country boy at heart – admitting that “I never thought I would love a city. But I love this city.”
“People have this misconception that it’s just soulless high rise buildings and heaps of people. But Hong Kong has a soul and a pulse and has endless possibilities for outdoor activities in nature. It’s unbelievably safe and I’m here able to do a job that I love.”
He went above and beyond his duties last weekend, watching Romantic Warrior’s race on the big screen.
As the field was in the back straight, Critta heard “a bit of a commotion from the crowd” and when he looked up to see a man carrying a banner run out on to the track, he rushed out along with vet Amy Kelly and trackwork rider Scott Duffy .
“I don’t really know what I thought but I just knew I had to do something to minimize any risk to the horses and the jockeys.”
“That is always our main focus, the safety of horses and jockeys.”
“Amy and Scott were outstanding,” he added – “they deserve every bit of praise as well.”
Once the race was over, the barrier attendants helped remove the protestor off the track before police were called. Critta was remained relaxed – “I was a bit hungry so I went and got something to eat, it was a long day!”
But, aside from that drama a great one.
“Ka Ying Rising was breathtaking, he is the best sprinter I have seen. And Romantic Warrior was amazing, Danny and his team deserve all the plaudits – that was some training performance. And Voyage Bubble was all heart, Ricky Hui deserves so much praise for the way he has handled that horse.”
