What happened to trainer Patrick Biancone in Hong Kong still boils down to a he said-they said situation. Hong Kong racing authorities alleged he was a cheat using illegal substances. Biancone says he was railroaded because the powers that were did not like his flamboyant off-the-track lifestyle and the fact he married a prominent local of Chinese descent.

Biancone's claims of innocence may never erase the embarrassment and stigma of a 10-month doping suspension from Hong Kong racing officials from his record, but he has done the next best thing. He has rebuilt his career, proving in America that he is still a talented trainer capable of winning at the highest level. Winning has a way of turning the bitter into the sweet.

"I thank (Hong Kong racing officials) very much," Biancone said. "Because of what they did my life is much better now than what it would have been. Good luck to them."

Just three years ago, Biancone could not have possibly imagined that his career could have been salvaged so quickly and so easily.

Biancone was among the top trainers in France throughout the 80's and won back-to-back Arc de Triomphes, capturing the 1983 running with All Along and then winning a year later with Sagace. All Along also made quite a splash in the North America in 1983, winning the Turf Classic, the Canadian International and the Washington D.C. International before being named U.S. Horse of the Year. Seeking new challenges, he switched his operation in 1990 to Hong Kong, where he was an immediate success.

He was merely fined in 1997 when some of his horses tested positive for an anti-congestant, but the charges were far more serious when authorities alleged in 1999 that some of his horses had been treated with a variety of banned substances, including an anabolic steroid. He was handed a 10-month suspension and there were no guarantees that he would be relicensed after the penalty had run its course. Overseas racing papers reported that Biancone's career "was in tatters."

But those close to him predicted he would fight his way back, and Biancone has proven them right. He made no attempt to resolve his problem in Hong Kong and instead resurfaced in Florida for the 2000 Gulfstream meet, where he was working as a racing manager for Frank Stronach. Florida racing regulators were aware of his situation in Hong Kong and asked that he apply for a license. After a 90-day investigative period, they gave him a permanent trainer's license, paving the way for him to start all over again.

"The thing that is most important to me is that after three months Florida waived my suspension," he said. "The United States is the largest country in the world so far as racing goes and they waived the suspension. That cleared my name. I never heard of a suspension being waived so fast."

Biancone still had to find some good horses, which didn't happen overnight. He won just five races in 2000 and six in 2001, with his only two stakes wins coming from a modestly talented horse named Trailthefox. Worse yet, like so many others, he didn't last with the Stronach racing operation. But Biancone remained confident he could build his operation into successful one.

"I trained some of the best horses in the world," he said. "Good horses came to me and I was smart enough to get results from them. I work hard and when you work hard in any business you expect to be successful."

There were enough owners out there who remembered what Biancone could do and they were willing to give him a chance. Most notable among them was Michael Tabor, who has sent Biancone a contingent of talented, well-bred 2-year-olds. One of them was Mayakovsky, who set a track record for 5 1/2 furlongs last year at Saratoga and won the Gotham this year.

But this has been the year when it has all come together for Biancone. He switched his operation to New York in the spring and had since unveiled a cast of fast 2-year-olds. His 22-horse stable includes 18 2-year-olds. The best of them is Zavata, who will be favored in Saturday's Hopeful. A son of Phone Trick, he's 3-for-4 and is coming off a sizzling 7 1/4-length victory in the Saratoga Special.

"It's too early to say whether he's one of the best horses I've ever trained, but he has so much ability," Biancone said. "I will say that he's the best horse I ever trained at this stage in his career."

Zavata is arguably the best 2-year-old in the country, and the second best may be Whywhywhy. The Biancone-trainee won the Sanford at the Saratoga meet and is being toward the Sept. 15 Futurity at Belmont. Biancone also has a major contender for Friday's Spinaway at Saratoga for 2-year-old fillies in Stellar, the runner-up in the Adirondack. His barn is top heavy with 2-year-olds, but no one in the country, with the possible exception of Bob Baffert, has a more imposing lineup of fast young horses.

His only problems now are nice problems, like trying to keep Zavata and Whywhywhy apart and hoping that his 2-year-olds aren't merely just precocious. It will never be clear just what happened in Hong Kong, but Biancone is so hot that he has managed to make it a moot point. He is back. Little else matters.