PATRICK Biancone wants top French rider Eric Legrix to partner his strongly-fancied Charming Talker in next Sunday's $3.5-million Hongkong Derby.
Biancone yesterday set down a request for an emergency one-month retainer on Legrix to substitute for the sidelined Gerald Mosse who is currently nursing a broken collarbone.
The French trainer said yesterday: ''I have applied for Eric, as my stable jockey is out of action for the month.
''It is not as if this would mean one more expatriate rider. He is just a substitute for the time that Gerald is out injured.
''If Gerald is fit to ride in three weeks then Eric would immediately stop riding. I'm hoping to have news from the Jockey Club's licensing committee by next Wednesday's meeting at the latest.'' Legrix and Biancone go back more than a decade. The 27-year-old, third in last season's French championship, was part of Biancone's A-team of crack apprentices that also included Mosse and William Mongil, which swept the board in French racing.
Legrix is no stranger to local racing or to international success.
