Happy Lucky Dragon Win | Moreira masters musical chairs
Even if Amber Sky wins this Sunday and then goes on to collect the Hong Kong Sprint, and even if he then collects an overseas Group One and becomes horse of the year, Joao Moreira still pulled the right rein in choosing to ride Sterling City this Sunday.
Moreira showed he is a quick learner in making a shrewd pick, at least in part, based on the cold-hearted politics of the Sha Tin trainer’s stand.
Even if Amber Sky wins this Sunday and then goes on to collect the Hong Kong Sprint, and even if he then collects an overseas Group One and becomes horse of the year, Joao Moreira still pulled the right rein in choosing to ride Sterling City this Sunday.
Moreira showed he is a quick learner in making a shrewd pick, at least in part, based on the cold-hearted politics of the Sha Tin trainer’s stand.
It wasn’t so much Amber Sky versus Sterling City – it was the respective trainers of those horses, Ricky Yiu Poon-fai and John Moore, that the Brazilian had to choose between.
It is rarely as simple as “who is the better horse?” or even “who will end up being the better horse?” when a jockey has to pick which horse to ride, and there are all sorts of considerations to make beyond short-term race results. In this case, Moreira believes Sterling City is the better bet in Sunday’s BOCHK Wealth Management Jockey Club Sprint.
But Moreira’s quotes last week revealed the deeper aspects that go into a jockey’s decision-making process.
“Everyone tells me John Moore wins most of the cup races and I think it is important to have a good relationship with the strongest trainers if I want to do well here,” he said.