On a day when local juniors stood up, apprentice jockey Jacky Tong Chi-kit overcame his concerns about one kind of screaming eagle to land his first Hong Kong winner on another. Tong, apprenticed to trainer Ivan Allan, was legged up on Screaming Eagle in the Class Five second race with instructions to have the horse racing with the leaders. 'But the horse missed the start and as it turned out, not being with the leaders made all the difference. They went so hard up front that, if he had done what I said, I don't think Screaming Eagle could have kept going to win,' Allan laughed after the troubled five-year-old got up late in the race to overhaul Asia Star. 'I have to thank the owner, Henry Tang Yin-yen, because he didn't have a moment's worry about Jacky riding the horse.' A winner of 12 races in Australia, Tong was just as excited about winning for the first time on home soil as he had been worried in running. 'I'm so glad the horse won. After missing the start, I didn't want to get screamed at,' Tong smiled. 'I am very grateful to Mr Allan and the owner for giving me this chance and to everyone who has been helping me.' Tong singled out Allan's work rider Ricky Chung and assistant trainer Danny Shum Chap-shing for the assistance they had given him: 'They've watched videos of my races and pointed out ways I could improve.' Fellow 10-pound claimer Thomas Yeung Kai-tong took his winning tally to three as he combined with David Hayes again to win the Class One event on Planet Ruler and the link could become more permanent next season. Yeung is attached to Peter Chapple-Hyam's stable and will have to find a new yard when the Englishman returns home at the end of June, with both Hayes and John Moore keen to take him on. He recently won on long-priced Crocker for Hayes and the trainer was impressed with the junior's ride yesterday: 'The claim was important for the horse because he is only a three-year-old and has been struggling a touch under the big weights in Class Two, but I liked the way this boy rode him out.' Hayes had considerable success with his former apprentice Howard Cheng claiming on Class One horses. 'I like to use them on these sorts of horses because by nature Class One horses are easy rides with no bad habits - that's why they are in Class One,' he explained. 'It takes a top jockey to handle the Class Five horses.'
