Mark du Plessis may have been the only jockey in the world to put his hand up for the 'graveyard shift' this season but a sparkling treble yesterday shows the Zimbabwe-born jockey knew what he was doing.
The final tranche of the Hong Kong season has brought many a good jockey undone in years gone by, but Du Plessis has fitted in brilliantly and has now racked up four winners in double quick time.
Du Plessis opened the bowling by leading throughout on Flying Colours for popular local horseman Derek Cruz in the opener for griffins, and predicts there's more to come for the New Zealand-bred two-year-old. He then kick-started David Hall's personal-best afternoon, with wins on 55-1 outsider Telecom Emperor and honest but unsound Jade Dancer (11-1) in the second and third events respectively, making it three winners from the first three races.
'It was just fantastic, a real thrill,' Du Plessis said.
'I've set myself a goal of winning 10 races before the end of the season, and today has made that goal look a lot more achievable.
'It's been hard getting established, coming here at a stage of the season when all the relationships are well formed but I've been working hard and been fortunate to get some strong support from people like Derek and David, and also Peter Ng [Bik-kuen], who gave me my first winner at Happy Valley the other week.'
Du Plessis revealed he has already applied for a licence for next season and after yesterday's treble should be almost 'over the line' for re-selection. Du Plessis said the biggest surprise out of the opening race victory on Flying Colours was the gelding began on terms with his rivals.