In Kroos Control

That win came five years after you won the Veteran's Cup at Shek O, an event you hadn't even heard of until a few days before ...

That's true. It was in 1993 and I celebrating my surprise birthday party at the American Club. It had been arranged by Pamela and it was a great event – well over 100 people attended. It was then that I was told I had now qualified age-wise for the Veteran's Cup. I hadn't even heard of it. So I called Shek O, put my name down and ended up winning it on the first attempt. That was good. I had a lot of fun [laughs].

Talk us through your holes-in-one ...

I've played for decades, literally thousands of rounds of golf, and I had my first one at the age of 58 at Fanling - on the eighth hole of the New Course in 2002. I was ecstatic: jumping up and down and screaming. It was a VIP golf day and I was playing with Hugh Staunton and he wasn't quite as excited as me - he'd seen it all before. Then just a few months later, also with a group from Fanling, I had another, this time on the 11th hole at Cruden Bay in Scotland. Five years later I would finally get one at Shek O - on the fourth hole. In 2011 I had my last hole-in-one on my home course in the States - the Country Club of the Rockies in Vail. Although there is mostly luck involved, the pure adrenaline rush has been a highlight of my golfing career.

Did you ever use golf as a way of entertaining clients or even securing new business during your days at JRP?

No, not really. JRP had a golf event every year but it was never really about business. For me, golf is all fellowship.

Horse racing, on the other hand, has indirectly been a huge advantage for me developing JRP’s business connections. With several of my horses winning class one cup races, it was a curiosity perceived that I was “winning” - and the culture in Hong Kong is that my good fortune would rub off on those associated with me in one form or another. The saying that success follows success was certainly a bonus for our business. Although this was not always the case, we played the horse racing game to the hilt. The chance of developing a close relationship with my trainers - Lawrie Fownes (now retired) and his son Caspar – has been a delight. They both handle the industry’s highs and lows with honour and professionalism.

Now I rarely attend the races unless my horse, Cruise Control, is running.