After 47 weeks and a broken arm between drinks for Howard Cheng Yue-tin, it had all seemed a bridge too far at times, but the jockey finally found his way back to the winner's circle on Monday after a dashing front-running ride on Apollo Cavalier.
Cheng's previous win was on David Hall's Soldier at Sha Tin on June 16 last year, but three days later he found himself on the sidelines after sustaining a fractured left arm in a five-horse fall when the one he was riding, Me Tsui Yu-sak's Fortune Together, broke down at Happy Valley.
Fortune Together, who was leading, sparked the pile-up and Cheng copped the full weight of two other horses who crashed over his mount.
The local jockey admitted it had been a tough road back to peak fitness, with a slated comeback in mid-December pushed back a number of times until he made his return on March 26.
"I wanted to be patient to build myself up, because I wanted to make sure I was fit first. Hong Kong is very competitive - there was no point returning if I wasn't going to be at my best," Cheng said.
"But it was hard. I started riding trackwork again and I didn't feel ready to return to riding, so I took my time and I think that's paid off."
"Although I waited and felt ready, I did notice my strength wasn't where it usually is when I returned. The first and second meeting back, I didn't feel comfortable at all, but now it's starting to feel more natural and that obviously helps. I'm feeling much better now."
Fittingly, it was Tsui who provided Cheng with his first winner back with a horse the jockey described as "hard work" in Apollo Cavalier.
"He's not an easy horse to ride - I always ride him in trackwork, and he has a soft mouth, so he needs everything to go just right, so he settles and sees out his races," Cheng said.
"This time was his first time on the dirt - every time on the turf he got to the 150m and he just stopped badly, but he was a different horse today. It probably helped when the horse on the outside broke down because it allowed him a softer run up to the turn."
"It's very exciting to finally get this winner, I've waited for it for a long time. The last couple of weeks, I've had a few placings and finished very close, but I couldn't get that winner. I'm very happy to have got the winner now, to get my confidence back up."
Cheng was also reunited with an old mate in Francis Lui Kin-wai's Smart Volatility, who finished second to Access Years in the Lusitano Challenge Cup, and the rider believes he will improve with less weight to carry.
"He seemed to be beaten at the top of the straight, but he found a little bit more. He's a game horse, especially from the inside draw with 132 pounds," he said.
"He'll go to a Group Three now over 1,400m [the Premier Cup] and hopefully with a lighter weight, he can get home."
It was not all good news for Cheng, though, with the jockey suspended for careless riding on Double Glory in the third race after causing interference to Dehere's The Love at the 200m.
He received a two-day ban, which would not start until after the Champions Mile meeting on May 4, with stewards taking into account his long period on the sidelines this season.
