Jerry Chau wins three, Hamelin hits 100 HK wins
HONG KONG - Jerry Chau continued a form resurgence with a treble, scoring on Dennis Yip-trained veteran Fire Ball ($74) in the HK$875,000 (S$153,000) Class 5 Amaryllis Handicap (1,600m), Another World ($172) for Benno Yung in the HK$1.17 million Class 4 Holly Handicap (1,400m) and Ricky Yiu’s Sky Joy ($47) in the HK$1.17 million Class 4 Hibiscus Handicap (1,200m) on Dec 22.
Chau ended a dry spell with victory on Packing Bole for Danny Shum on Dec 18, having endured a winless streak stretching back to October.
“The last two months have, for me, been a bit down and it’s been hard to get winners,” said Chau.
“It seems now like the luck has changed and everything is going well now with three winners. It’s good.
“But I just kept working hard, going to Sha Tin and Conghua to ride track work to get the results.
“(I was) very lucky today with Sky Joy. We had a very difficult draw with barrier 14 but luckily the horse has good gate speed and we had some luck to get a little bit of cover.”
Yiu was delighted with Chau’s display on Sky Joy, who overcame barrier 14 to score strongly.
“He’s a nice horse and he responded really well under the stick. It was one, two and boom off he goes. It was his second start and from a wide barrier on the ‘A+3’ course, statistics told us he couldn’t win,” said Yiu.
“But with Jerry Chau on him, like I said to the owners, he’ll at least be in the first three because we’ve got a jockey who is flying today. He (Chau) is an improving young chap, I like him a lot. Before he went overseas, he was with me and I spent a lot of time with him for 12 months or so.”
Jockey Antoine Hamelin slotted his 100th Hong Kong victory when John Size’s Raging Blizzard ($67) won the HK$2.84 million Class 2 Poinsettia Handicap (1,200m), snaring his first win since last season.
“It’s great, I’ve been waiting a while for this one,” said the Frenchman.
“But now, I’m very happy. The horse was very well prepared, as usual, by Mr Size. I thank him again for the support he has given me over these four years and I hope for more in the coming years.
“It’s been a while waiting for this one. I knew I was stuck on 99, so it’s even longer when you’re waiting for your 100th. But I’m very happy and grateful. It’s a good Christmas gift and the New Year is coming soon. I can’t wait and I hope more winners come.”
Ka Ying Attack ($36) claimed the HK$1.17 million Class 4 Erica Handicap (1,400m), narrowly clinching the contest for three-year-olds for David Hall and Matthew Poon before Shum slotted a double with Joyful Prosperity ($27), who made it three wins in a row with victory in the HK$1.17 million Class 4 Ivy Handicap (2,000m) under Hugh Bowman.
HKJC
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