He’s made it clear he doesn’t have any lofty targets for the early stages of his Hong Kong career, but the decision of David Eustace to move to the city earlier than most expatriate trainers shows just how seriously he’s taking his new challenge.

While the 32-year-old could have stayed for the Autumn riches that no doubt await his current trainer partner Ciaron Maher, Eustace plans to move to Hong Kong in April.

“The hard work starts now. Over the next few months, I’m looking to get an understanding of the rules, the set-up of the races and, most importantly, try to build a stable,” Eustace, who finishes up with Maher at the end of the month, said at Happy Valley on Thursday night.

“Ciaron has been very good and I was keen to get up here as early as possible. It is going to take time to build the right relationships and the longer you’ve got to do that, the better.

Jockey Club unveils British trainer Eustace and extends local handler Man

“It’s very difficult to focus on two things at once when there’s so much to take on. Ciaron was good enough to see the end of January – get through Magic Millions – as the right time to shift 100 per cent focus to the next venture.”

Eustace will be on the ground earlier than other expat arrivals, with Mark Newnham not having his final Australian runner until May last year and Jamie Richards not arriving in Hong Kong until the middle of the same month 12 months earlier.

“I’ll look to move full time in April. My understanding is that I can train a horse from June 1 and then start having runners at the start of the 2024-25 season in September,” Eustace said.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge and the pressure of building a team myself, but it’s very difficult to know exactly [what my stable will look like] – one thing I know is the stable size is zero at the moment.

“If I could have 30 by the start of the season, that would be great. I’ll be trying to source horses straight away but there’s a bit of a holding period over the next couple of months where it’s too soon to be looking to ship any horses.

“It’s just about learning the system, finding my feet and trying to build some relationships over the next couple of months as best as possible. Then I hope March, April, May I can really sink my teeth into trying to build a stable.”

One thing Eustace does know is that early on, it’ll be very much about making do with what he has.

Richards has ‘throw at the stumps’ as he chases his first HK Group success

“It seems to be the right way to go – accept what comes your way and try to make best of that,” said Eustace, who hopes to be a regular visitor to Hong Kong between now and his permanent move.

“I think it’s going to be a gradual build and hopefully it speeds up in coming seasons.

“I think you’ve got to take your time, you’re undoubtedly going to make mistakes over the next few years and continue to do so, so you’re probably better off doing that early on with some lesser-grade horses.”