Jerry Chau continues outstanding season with G3 Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse triumph

By Leo Schlink

Crowning his emergence as one of Hong Kong’s top jockeys, Jerry Chau produced a masterly ride on Speed Dragon (121lb) to land the HK$4.2 million G3 Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse Handicap (1800m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (8 November), enhancing his chances of participation in the LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) next month.

Winner of last season’s Tony Cruz Award as the leading homegrown jockey, Chau has continued the form this term and, with 17 wins for the campaign, he is well placed to earn one of the two remaining berths in the LONGINES IJC at Happy Valley on 9 December after a superb display on Speed Dragon.

Asked by trainer Francis Lui to show patience on Speed Dragon, Chau followed the instructions to the letter, quietly biding his time behind the moderate pace set by Soleil Fighter (122lb) before steadily making ground along the fence. Approaching the turn, Chau angled Speed Dragon towards the middle of the track and tracked Le Zonda (117lb) deep into the straight.

Once clear, the Darci Brahma gelding unleashed a blistering sprint – with a final 400m sectional of 22.60s - to overhaul Gentleman Legacy (115lb) to score by a neck in 1m 47.84s, as luckless Massive Sovereign (123lb) charged through the middle of the field to snatch third place, a further length back.

“My first time riding him today. I trialled him in trackwork and he gave me a very good feeling,” Chau said. “He’s very mature and he does what he wants and he teaches me how to do it. As you can see in the race, he just led me into the race and he gave me a very good finish. So, I’m very proud of him.

“I was very lucky. The race was very smooth for me today and we got the job done.”

With two berths yet to be filled in the LONGINES IJC, Chau hopes he can qualify for the prestigious series and join Ryan Moore, James McDonald, William Buick, Mickael Barzalona, Zac Purton, Saffie Osborne, Dylan Browne McMonagle, Rachel King, Christophe Lemaire and Joao Moreira in the 12-rider series.

There are only five meetings remaining until the final selection cut-off and, with Nichola Yuen (18 wins) ineligible as a seven-pound claiming apprentice, Chau, Vincent Ho (14), Andrea Atzeni (12), Derek Leung (11) and James Orman (10) are all in contention for the final two spots.

Lui is likely to target winning a second consecutive HK$4.2 million G3 January Cup Handicap (1800m) on 13 January at Happy Valley with Speed Dragon, who now has four wins over the trip.

Lui posted a double when Young Archer (122lb) snared a last-stride victory in the Class 3 Suisse Programme Handicap (1200m) under Luke Ferraris. Formerly known as Melian when trained in Australia by Anthony and Sam Freedman, Young Archer earned a PP Bonus of HK$1.5 million for connections.

Atzeni vaulted into fifth place in the Hong Kong jockeys’ championship, slotting a treble with Beauty Bolt (118lb) in the Class 2 Santa Monica Handicap (1400m) for Tony Cruz, while also sharing a double in tandem John Size with Prime Ace (131lb) in the Class 4 Kate Tokyo Handicap (1200m) and Beauty Award (128lb) in the Class 4 Elizabeth Arden Handicap (1400m).

Beauty Bolt, who finished third in last season’s Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m), earned a PP Bonus of HK$1.5 million.

Dylan Mo posted his first double since 2022 with the wins of Chris So’s Celestial Strider (128lb) in the Class 5 Neogence Handicap (1200m, dirt) and Ricky Yiu’s Panacea (113lb) in the Class 3 La Estephe Handicap (1400m).

The lightweight was elated with the brace, which came from only four rides.

“I’m very happy,” Mo said after triumphing on 43/1 chance Panacea, who was last early before charging late. “We wanted to ride this horse very relaxed and let him finish off and he did.

“It’s great to get these opportunities. My last double was a long time ago, so I am very happy now.”

Caspar Fownes-trained Pejibaye (132lb) made a triumphant return to racing after arthroscopic surgery to both knees in July with a four-and-a-half length win in the Class 4 Grace One Handicap (1200m, dirt) in class record time.

Taken directly to the front by Ellis Wong, the Per Incanto gelding clocked 1m 07.66s to shatter Sha Tin’s Class 4 1200m dirt record of 1m 08.14s, set in 2018 by Happy Tour.

“I have to thank the (Hong Kong) Jockey Club vets for the great job on his knee surgery during the summer break. He's a lot more comfortable; we always felt that this horse had ability. He has come back and been very, very impressive, so hopefully we now go to Class 3 with a 5lb penalty and hopefully he'll be very strong in Class 3 as well,” Fownes said.

Nine-time Hong Kong Champion Jockey Zac Purton claimed his 30th win of the season with the success of Danny Shum’s Gorgeous Victory (121lb) in the Class 4 Canmake Tokyo Handicap (1600m) to maintain a 12-win buffer over Yuen, who scored on Kingly Demeanor (126lb) for Cruz in the Class 5 L’Oreal Paris Handicap (1800m) to boost her tally to 18 wins.

Hong Kong racing continues at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (11 November).