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Matthew Poon vaulted into fourth place on the Hong Kong jockeys’ championship, enhancing hopes of securing a place in the LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) in December with victory on Danny Shum’s Reliable Profit to continue a sizzling start to the season at Sha Tin on Wednesday night (23 October).
With nine wins, Poon trails only seven-time champion Zac Purton (28 wins), Hugh Bowman (16) and Vincent Ho (nine wins) after leap-frogging Karis Teetan (eight) and Matthew Chadwick (eight) with Reliable Profit 's victory in the first section of the Class 4 Tin Ha Shan Handicap (1650m) at the all-dirt mid-week fixture.
In the midst of his fastest start to a season, Poon hopes to return to the LONGINES IJC at Happy Valley on 4 December after competing in the lucrative series in 2018.
"It's a long way to go but, to be honest, I really want to be in the top four of the jockey championship so then I can ride in the IJC," Poon said. "My target is to get into the IJC and also get more support from different trainers, which I'm trying to do now – I'm riding trials in Conghua, trials in Hong Kong – to get more opportunities.
"If I can get more rides, hopefully I can get more winners. Riding in the IJC was amazing (in 2018). It was unforgettable, so I'm doing my best to do it again."
If Poon maintains his current strike rate, he will join Purton, who qualifies as reigning Hong Kong champion jockey, and Ho, who is the LONGINES IJC defending champion, in the series along with a glittering assembly of world-class overseas jockeys.
Ho continued to build form with a double, scoring on Capital Delight for Caspar Fownes in the Class 3 Wa Mei Shan Handicap (1650m) and Sunny Darling in the Class 4 JCI Hong Kong Senate Cup Handicap (1200m) for Pierre Ng, who reclaimed the lead in the trainers' championship with a treble.
Ng also scored with Robot Knight in the second section of the Class 4 Tiu Yue Yung Handicap (1200m) under Andrea Atzeni and Turin Mascot for Purton in the Class 3 Tsim Mei Fung Handicap (1650m) to have 15 wins for the term – one more than David Hayes (14).
"It's good to see the two horses winning tonight and hopefully they can go on. David Hayes has done really well. We'll just try to get more winners and keep everyone happy," Ng said.
Chris So praised the competitive longevity of Smart Leader after the 10-year-old landed the Class 5 Shek Uk Shan Handicap (1200m) for Keagan De Melo.
Contesting his 81st race in Hong Kong – having won three races from six attempts when he raced as Scarecrow for Tony McEvoy in Australia before export – Smart Leader slotted his fifth win with an age-defying performance.
"The horse is still competitive. I wanted to keep the horse until December to see what we could do and if there was no result, we would retire him but he keeps on doing his job – he's 10 years old, so you have to show him respect," So said.
Colourful Baron made light of barrier 11 and a three-wide run under Lyle Hewitson to provide Douglas Whyte with a win with his only starter of the night with success in the Class 5 Hebe Hill Handicap (1800m).
"One runner, one winner. He's been a bit unlucky and he would have been unlucky tonight not to win – three-wide, no cover – but he got a good trail into the race and did a good job. Lyle never panicked," Whyte said.
"Although he was three-wide, he allowed the horses in front of him to drag him into the race and it paid off. He just needs tempo to draw him into the race. I don't think he's a jump and lead horse and I think the way he ran tonight, he's adaptable to both surfaces (dirt and turf)."
Never Peter Out won the second section of the Class 4 Tin Ha Shan Handicap (1650m) for Keith Yeung, vindicating Frankie Lor's decision to start the Grunt gelding on dirt.
"He hadn't raced on the all-weather track before, but I saw him trial one time on it and he wasn't too bad, so I thought I'd try it. They are finishing well down the middle of the track tonight. I instructed Keith to stay out there and he won the race. I think he can win more races on the dirt," Lor said.
Hong Kong horse racing continues at Happy Valley on Sunday (27 October).