Manoel Nunes consolidated his top-six position on the jockeys' premiership with his victory on the appropriately named Care Free Prince and later expressed his relief that the gelding's waywardness had not been more costly.
Trainer Me Tsui Yu-sak, who was saddling up Care Free Prince for only the second time, had warned Nunes that the gelding has a well-developed tendency to hang right towards the running rail and the trainer's words were looking prophetic indeed at the 200 metres.
'He was always travelling well but when he hit the front, he wanted to lay in badly,' Nunes (pictured) said.
'I tried to straighten him up but he is not an easy horse to manage when he is away from the running rail and under full pressure.
'On the line, I looked behind me. I was afraid I might have taken Shane Dye's running, but thank goodness we were clear and there was no problem.'
Nunes, the two-time champion jockey of Macau, has now moved to 16 wins in his first Hong Kong season and the top six jockeys have put a sizeable break on the rest of the field, headed by apprentice Marco Chui Kwan-lai on 10 wins.