Newly licensed Australian trainer Mark Newnham arrived in Hong Kong on Monday, excited in equal measure about his first-up test of turning other people’s trash into his treasure and his long-term project of building another high-performing stable from the ground up.

Three weeks on from his Australian yard’s last of its 2,348 starters, Newnham has swapped Sydney for Sha Tin, with his wife, Donna, accompanying him on the latest leg of a riding and training adventure that began as a strapper with Bob Thomsen 40 years ago.

Apart from Donna spending three weeks in Sydney next month to tie up the remaining loose ends associated with their 403-win Randwick operation, the Newnhams are in Hong Kong for good, and Mark cannot wait to stock a stable from scratch for a second time.

“It’s like starting again as I did seven years ago,” said former journeyman jockey Newnham, who served his lengthy apprenticeship under two of Australia’s all-time great handlers, racing icons Bart Cummings and Gai Waterhouse, before becoming his own boss in 2016.

“I’ve got two unnamed horses at the moment – they’ll be out of quarantine on Tuesday week, I think – and I’ve got a few transfers, whom I can’t declare yet because I don’t want to upset their current trainers.

“There’s nothing special among them. No one’s moving a horse who’s going well. You’re just happy to take horses into your stable and do the best you can.

“A little change of environment. A little change of tactics. A little change of regime. Sometimes old horses, like people, get into the habit of going through the motions, and everything becomes routine. If they can have a change in mindset, away you go.

“That’s pretty much how I started my Sydney stable. I received horses from other stables. I managed to get wins out of those tried horses. It gets you to the races. It gets your name out there. However, it’s what you do next that determines where you end up.”

Once Newnham has completed several basic onboarding tasks – “I’ve got to undergo a medical examination, set up a bank account and do a few other bits and pieces to get things moving, including get some supplies for the apartment” – he will look ahead to welcoming some unraced gallopers from Australia and attending this year’s Hong Kong International Sale on June 30.

“I’m not bringing any horse who’s raced to Hong Kong. Some of these horses will trial in the next two weeks. Some have trialled, and a few of those horses will be in the next couple of shipments,” Newnham said.

Last year’s star graduate seeks Happy Valley hat-trick ahead of this year’s Hong Kong International Sale

“I’ve done a bit of homework on the sale horses. I’ve gone back through my yearling notes and read up on the ones I’ve seen on the ground in Australia.”

Newnham said the Jockey Club would reveal the identity of his assistant trainer in due course, with the relevant parties conducting the process during the Australian’s flying visit to Hong Kong last month.