Chau brilliant in Group 3 Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse triumph

HONG KONG – Crowning his emergence as one of Hong Kong’s top jockeys, Jerry Chau produced a masterly ride on Speed Dragon to land the HK$4.2 million (S$686,000) Group 3 Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse (1,800m) at Sha Tin on Nov 8, 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 IJC at Happy Valley on Dec 9 after a superb ride 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 (Harry Bentley) before steadily making ground along the fence.

Approaching the turn, Chau angled the Darci Brahma seven-year-old towards the middle of the track and tracked Le Zonda (Richard Kingscote) deep into the straight.

Once clear, Speed Dragon ($65) unleashed a blistering sprint – with a final 400m sectional of 22.6sec – to overhaul Gentleman Legacy (Alexis Badel) to score by a neck in 1min 47.84sec.

The luckless Massive Sovereign (Zac Purton) charged through the middle of the field to snatch third, a further length back.

“It’s my first time riding him today. I trialled him in trackwork and he gave me a very good feeling,” said Chau.

“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 IJC, Chau hopes he can qualify for the prestigious series and join Purton, Ryan Moore, James McDonald, William Buick, Mickael Barzalona, 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. With Nichola Yuen (18 wins) ineligible as a seven-pound (3.18kg) 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 Group 3 January Cup (1,800m) at Happy Valley on Jan 13 with Speed Dragon, who now has four wins over the trip.

Lui posted a double when Young Archer ($95) snared a last-stride victory in the HK$1.86 million Class 3 Suisse Programme Handicap (1,200m) under Luke Ferraris two races later.

Formerly known as Melian when trained in Australia by Anthony and Sam Freedman, the son of Street Boss earned a PP (Private Purchase) Bonus of HK$1.5 million for connections. HKJC