Former champion apprentice jockey Man Ka-leung will line up alongside Australian John Size as the new boys in the training ranks next season after the Jockey Club yesterday approved his application for a full licence. Known as Manfred, the 43-year-old is assistant to John Moore, having had a near 20-year relationship with the trainer's family since the end of his riding career. Man will help fill the gap left by the three trainers axed from the Club's roster yesterday - Bruce Hutchison, Chris Cheung Ting-pong and Wylie Wong Wai-lit - along with Size, whose appointment was announced last month. Both are due to start on July 1, two months ahead of the new season, and Man's promotion confirms the Club's pledge to match each new expatriate trainer with one from the local pool. Man was delighted to have beaten off stiff competition from 19 other assistant trainers who applied for the full position, though he admitted he still had a lot of work ahead to be ready for the new season. 'I'm very pleased the Club has given me this opportunity, but I don't know yet how many horses I will have or who my assistant will be. I have someone in mind, but nothing has been agreed yet. I have to thank John Moore, and before him his father George, for all the help and guidance they have given me over the years. I have learned a lot from them about people management and how you have to treat every horse as an individual, and I hope I can use that experience.' Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the Club's director of racing, said Man's seniority and breadth of experience had won him the vote at the Licensing Committee meeting. 'We had a shortlist of five or six candidates who we think could make the grade as trainers in the next few years, but several are younger and may need more training outside Hong Kong before they are ready. Manfred is seen as one of the most senior assistants and he is used to running the stable when John Moore is away. He also has knowledge of buying horses, which is extremely important when setting up a stable, and has the backing of a number of potential owners.' Man was first employed by the Jockey Club as a racing trainee between 1974 and 1976. After graduation, Man was licensed as an apprentice jockey from 1976 to 1980, winning the championship in the 1978/79 season, and then rode in the senior ranks until relinquishing his licence in December 1982. Man's link with the Moore family began when he then took up a position as a work rider and was attached to 11-time champion trainer George Moore. When Moore's son John took over the training licence, Man stayed on first as work rider and then as assistant trainer from the start of the 1989/90 season, contributing to Moore Jnr's five championship successes. Another important factor in Man getting the nod was his wealth of experience in other racing countries, having participated in recent years in schemes designed by the Jockey Club to further the education of senior stable staff. In 1998 Man successfully completed a study course in racehorse management for assistant trainers, organised jointly by the Club and the Northern Melbourne Institute of Technical & Further Education in Australia. Man has also gained experience with Australian trainer Geoff Chapman and Martin Jones in the US, as well as completing other study courses in the UK and New Zealand. Engelbrecht-Bresges said: 'Manfred has done very well in his overseas training and the Club has had very good feedback on him. Hopefully the other candidates who missed out this time will follow Manfred's example.'
