LOCAL idol Tony Cruz barnstormed back to the top of the jockeys' championship when he rode half the card at Happy Valley last night.
Cruz chalked up a winning treble on Able Ride (9-2) in the opening event and then partnered the Peter Ng Bik-kuen gallopers Golden Emperor (3-1 favourite) and Fantastic Flyer (5-1) to victory in the fourth and final events respectively.
Cruz back at the top of the table is no surprise as he is a rider of tremendous ability but trainer Ng last night carved out his own small piece of local racing history by going to the top of his championship table.
He has saddled up an amazing 21 winners and is now equal with defending champion John Moore, Patrick Biancone and another local hero in Derek Cruz.
Tony Cruz now has 28 winners, two ahead of French star Gerald Mosse, without a win last night, and he is clearly going to battle to the line for the title.
With the recent split from brother Derek, it looked likely that Cruz would face an uphill battle without a major stable behind him.
But he has knuckled down with fierce determination, rides more horses in the mornings than before and is available to virtually any trainer.