Fayd'herbe ends his drought
The character of South African rider Bernard Fayd'herbe has never been in doubt and his perseverance paid off at Sha Tin with his first Hong Kong win last night.
Fayd'herbe won on Scenic Star for his compatriot, Tony Millard, to open his scoring in a club jockey stint that has been even more demanding on the 20-year-old than on most visiting riders. 'That's fantastic - I'm really happy. Now I have to just keep coming up with rides which are chances and I can get going here,' he said. 'I know I'm only young, so coming here is also a learning experience and I think I'm learning something every day riding against these guys.'
Fayd'herbe's first time riding in Hong Kong was made even tougher by the sudden death of his father last month and the young rider returned home to South Africa, with his Hong Kong licence up in the air. But with assurance it was the wish of his family to continue his ambitions here, Fayd'herbe returned to continue the tough slog of breaking the ice and finally did it last night in ending a 70-runner dry spell for Millard. 'I did get a shock here,' Fayd'herbe admitted. 'At home I was able to sit back and pick from the best rides. When I got here, nothing I had ever done counted and it has been really tough getting the right opportunities. But I looked on the computer at some of the riders who have been here and haven't been able to get rides or ride winners and it kept me going. It's the same for everyone here.'
Trainer John Moore was celebrating another griffin winner last night when Ever More scored up the straight course but this time against the older runners. 'Actually, we had been intending to run him in the Juvenile Sprint Trophy,' Moore explained just over half an hour after he had quinellaed the Juvenile Sprint with Able Choice and Anabatik. 'But I said to his owner 'you can run there, sure. And your horse will give a good account of himself and maybe run fourth or fifth but I don't think he can beat the other two. Or you can run in this race and it's a race he can win.' So he said let's run in the race we can win.'
It was the second win for Ever More (Anton Marcus), with both wins coming down the straight 1000m course at Sha Tin, but Moore does not feel Ever More with be limited to this kind of race. 'I really think he'll be a nice horse at Happy Valley,' Moore said. 'He gets speed from his dam side with Rory's Jester, but he is by Geiger Counter and he gets his versatility from dad.'
Ever More may get his first look at Happy Valley's tight turns before the season is through, with Moore planning to give the two-year-old another start. 'I knew he would be fitter tonight for that run the other day,' Moore said.