Apprentice jockey Angus Chung Yik-lai ticked off another little milestone at Sha Tin on Sunday, riding his 45th Hong Kong winner and seeing his claim drop from seven pounds to five.
Amid a super start to the season that has netted 14 victories from 16 meetings – including five from the past two fixtures – Chung is confident he can maintain his momentum as he works through his apprenticeship.
“I’ve improved a lot since last season, so hopefully I can continue getting good results claiming five,” said the 27-year-old.
“I don’t think it will make much difference because it’s only two pounds less. I’ll try my best to keep getting good rides and riding good races. It’s been good to have results like these so far this season.”
Chung impresses Whyte on way to first Hong Kong treble: ‘He’s come a long way’
Chung, whose 45 wins have come from 541 rides, will have his five-pound claim until he reaches 70 victories and completes his apprenticeship, at which point his claim will reduce by another two pounds.
He has seven rides at Happy Valley on Wednesday night, including Campione in the Class Two Stanley Handicap (1,200m), Togepi in the first section of the Class Four Chung Hom Kok Handicap (1,200m) and debutant Philos, who tackles the Class Four Middle Bay Handicap (1,000m).
“Early last season, Campione performed very well – he was a bit unlucky to run second a couple of times. His rating has dropped to 88, and I think he can be competitive enough to win races right now,” Chung said.
“Togepi’s a bit unlucky to draw barrier 11, but we’ll just come out naturally, put him to sleep, and hopefully, he can give me a good, strong finish.
“I’m looking forward to riding the new horse [Philos] for Tony Cruz. He was a bit naughty at the beginning, but he’s more mature now, and hopefully, he can get the good run from barrier one.”
Meanwhile, a couple of big guns trialled at Sha Tin on Tuesday morning ahead of the main Longines Hong Kong International Races lead-up meeting on November 19, with Wellington finishing third behind California Spangle in their 1,200m all-weather hit-out.
“I thought he trialled well. He drew out wide and got caught wide, but I think it was pretty normal, like one of his trials from last season,” trainer Jamie Richards said of Group Two Jockey Club Sprint (1,200m) entrant Wellington, who is preparing for his first run since his luckless 10th in June’s Group One Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (1,200m) at Royal Ascot.
“He seems to be in good shape. He’s had a little bit of a quiet time since he arrived back from Conghua, but he’s had a trial today to tune him up 12 days out from his seasonal reappearance on the 19th.
“I just wanted to try something different with him post his trip to Ascot,” Richards added of Wellington’s first visit to the Jockey Club’s Conghua training facility in mainland China.
“It’s always a little bit of an unknown when horses come back from travelling – whether they’re the same horse or not. But at this stage, everything seems to be going well with him, and hopefully, he can turn up and run a good race next Sunday.”
Cruz was happy with California Spangle’s effort ahead of his clash with just four rivals in the Group Two Jockey Club Mile, while Danny Shum Chap-shing confirmed Group One Cox Plate (2,040m) victor Romantic Warrior will not run in the Group Two Jockey Club Cup (2,000m) despite featuring among Monday’s nominations.
