Trainer Manfred Man Ka-leung has applied for embattled veteran Gerald Mosse to be his retained rider for next season and while the French jockey remained tight-lipped about the possible arrangement, he let his riding do the talking with a double.
A winner of more than 600 races over more than two decades in Hong Kong and with a big race record that is unmatched, Mosse was denied a full-time spot for the start of next season by the licensing committee, but Man's offer could deliver the 48-year-old a career lifeline.
The jockey was happy to talk about his two winners, progressive sprinter Blizzard and Medic Swordsman, but it was left to Man to confirm that Mosse could become the first rider to be granted retained status since Darren Beadman was employed by John Moore in 2011-12.
"I just put the application in, so I'm not sure yet, but the owners are happy to support him as stable jockey," said Man, with Mosse requiring the support of 85 per cent of the trainer's owners to make the move possible.
Mosse might not have pleased his possible future boss too much by winning on Ricky Yiu Poon-fai's smart three-year-old Blizzard, who beat Man's Lang Tai Sing into second place.
After a second to superstar-in-the-making Thewizardofoz just over a month ago, Blizzard took his record to three from seven and did it the hard way, sitting three deep without cover as 1.7 favourite.
"You don't want to go looking for trouble on a horse that is short in betting like that," Mosse said. "The rider inside me wanted to keep me wide but that was fine, I just wanted to give him space and ride him like he was the best horse in the race, which he proved he was."
As Blizzard moves into his four-year-old season the inevitable question arose as to whether the son of Starcraft can be stretched beyond sprint journeys after his second 1,200m win at Sha Tin - the first of which came on protest.
"No doubt about it, he will be fine over further," Mosse said. "100 per cent, at least at 1,400m - it should even suit him."
When Yiu purchased Blizzard for A$75,000 as a yearling the trainer never expected to be talking about a horse that had won three races and moved to the top of Class Three at this stage.
"To be honest we thought he was a late maturing type," Yiu said. "Even though he has got there quicker than we thought, maybe he can get a little bit better next season. I think he will get further, his breeding says he will get a mile."
Tony Millard-trained Class Fiver Medic Swordsman got his "win for the season", according to his trainer.
"He is pretty limited, this horse, but he has done his job so the owners are happy," Millard said.
