Race On, Ronald

Ronald Arculli reflects on his life over the past 20 years, his undying love for horse racing, and the city he calls home

- Tara Sobti

The doors of Ronald Arculli’s grand home are thrown open wide for Tatler, offering respite from the humid Hong Kong summer. As his wife of more than 30 years, Johanna, and their two teacup poodles, Baloo and Simba, busy themselves around him, Arculli himself reclines patiently on a comfortable chair overlooking the garden, completely at ease and unflappable, just as he has always been.

Here is a couple that have nothing to prove and yet Johanna, chairwoman of the charity Helping Hand, is anxious to ensure everything is in place for the photoshoot. “The flowers behind him are looking a little dead: shall we switch them?” she asks. “Ronald, do you need a comb?” She laughs at all the primping taking place, then pauses as her eyes rest on the copy of the 1999 Tatler feature lying on the table. Neither can believe that more than two decades have elapsed.

Described in the feature as a “Man with many strings to his bow”, Arculli, a Grand Bauhinia Medal awardee and OBE, is steadfast in his commitment to the city his father’s side of the family have called home since the 1840s, and that he himself doesn’t intend to leave any time soon.