Vincent Ho strikes with Happy Valley treble as Fownes launches championship defense

By Leo Schlink

Vincent Ho took riding honours at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (9 September) with a treble to continue his bright start to the 2026/27 season as Caspar Fownes ignited his charge for a sixth Hong Kong trainers’ championship with a double.

Vaulting to second place in the jockeys’ championship, Ho is level with Zac Purton on four wins but trails the nine-time Hong Kong champion with fewer minor placings.

“I was happy for the night, I’ve got to keep it going and get more good rides and support,” Ho said after triumphing on Fownes-trained Jumbo Blessing (130lb) in the Class 4 Kowloon Tong Handicap (1000m), Cody Mo’s Fortunate Son (121lb) in the Class 3 Central Handicap and Pierre Ng’s Ace Champion (121lb) in the Class 3 Wan Chai Handicap (1200m).

Ho substituted for Luke Ferraris on Jumbo Blessing and was impressed with the Fownes trainee.

“He’s (Jumbo Blessing) a nice horse. I was lucky to pick up this ride. He’s a quality horse. He’s exciting, he still has some points in hand and can improve from that,” Ho said. “The two original rides that I had (Fortunate Son and Ace Champion) were two decent rides and I thought they had a chance.”

Underscoring his reputation as the ‘King of the Valley’, Fownes last season slotted a record 46 wins at Happy Valley to claim his fifth Hong Kong trainers’ title with 69 victories overall from Danny Shum (65 wins) and Mark Newnham (61).

With an unmatched 676 victories at the city circuit, Fownes has more wins at the venue in Hong Kong’s professional era of racing than any other horseman and he delivered a swift reminder of his potency at Happy Valley tonight.

Bidding to add to championships secured in 2006/07, 2008/09, 2013/14, 2020/21 and 2025/26, Fownes pointed to the difficulty of claiming successive titles.

“It's very tough (to go win consecutive championships). We're happy with the team. The thing is we've got quite a few PPs coming into the system and they need to contribute in order to give yourself a chance to win the championship,” said Fownes, who has 1,237 Hong Kong wins overall.

Like Ho, Fownes was impressed with Jumbo Blessing.

“I honestly thought he'd just be winning, the way he was working in the mornings. I didn't even trial him, I said 'he's ready to go to the races'. He's still being a little bit tricky, but he's starting to understand what his job is,” Fownes said.

“He'll probably get another five points for that win – take him up to the top of the class. I always believed he was a Class 3 horse in the making - once he starts to do everything right, it will come together for him.”

Purton posted his 750th victory at Happy Valley when Francis Lui’s Mighty Steed (135lb) fought doggedly to fend off Firefoot (122lb) to land the second section of the Class 4 Kwun Tong Handicap (1650m).

“Mighty Steed is a bit like me – he’s honest,” Purton said. “There’s not much of him, he struggles to get the job done and he’s always carrying top weight in Class 4. He tries hard and found his race tonight.

“It’s good that he got that victory. He deserved it.”

Referring to the 750-win milestone, Purton quipped: “It’s another chapter in the book.”

Purton subsequently completed a double when Robot Lucky Star (135lb) scored in the Class 4 Tsim Sha Tsui Handicap (1200m) for Mark Newnham.

Team Happy (119lb) claimed the first Happy Valley victory of the season with narrow success for Michael Chang and Karis Teetan in the first section of the Class 5 Admiralty Handicap (1200m). Teetan also prevailed on David Hayes-trained Amazing Gaze (120lb) in the first section of the Class 4 Kwun Tong Handicap (1650m).

“It’s nice to have a good night. Sunday was a tough one. Here in Hong Kong, you have to keep your head strong and move forward. It seems to have turned today and it’s good to get the winners,” Teetan said.

Hong Kong racing continues at Sha Tin on Sunday (13 September).