Poon pondering final fling
Hong Kong jockey spotted at Raffles Cup meeting, keen to ride at Kranji farewell
The familiar face of Hong Kong jockey Matthew Poon seen mingling around at the Kranji races on Raffles Cup day on Aug 11 could be a harbinger for one last cameo.
In town for a three-day visit during the Hong Kong recess, the 30-year-old squeezed in a lightning visit to catch up with people he met during his highly successful Kranji stints in 2017 and 2018.
Poon was not dropping by for just the social side, though.
“It was good catching up with all the people I got to know here, like Donna Logan, James Peters, Tim Fitzsimmons. Too bad, Shane Baertschiger (his main sponsor at his two Kranji stays) has left, but I had dinner with Scott Bailey (Baertschiger’s ex-assistant trainer, now Singapore Turf Club race commentator) last night,” he said.
“I really loved my time here. That’s why I’d also like to ride here at the last meeting on Oct 5.
“It’s so sad it’ll be gone. It would mean a lot to me if I could ride for one last time before this place closes down.
“I’ll be free to ride as there’s no meeting in Hong Kong that day.”
Poon said he had not put in an application yet, but was encouraged by the warm reception from various trainers, who were left impressed by the impact he made.
Then only an apprentice jockey, Poon was granted three separate short-term licences on three different premises.
At his first foray in 2017, he landed as the dux of South Australian racing, following in the footsteps of previous alumni like Jamie Kah, Amy Herrmann and Jake Toeroek, the just-crowned Adelaide champion jockey.
Having already transitioned from his first training base of Australia to Hong Kong (he made his debut on home turf in May 2017), he was using Kranji as further exposure to another overseas jurisdiction.
The Poon Train, as he was nicknamed Down Under, whizzed through his four introductory meetings with at least one winner per meeting.
From an outstanding haul of six wins, amazingly, one of them came at Group 3 level, Faaltless in the Garden City Trophy (1,200m).
It did not surprise many when he extended that white-hot form to Hong Kong, where he claimed the apprentice jockey title in the 2017-2018 season.
It also did not surprise anybody when Baertschiger asked him to come back during the Hong Kong break and at one extra hit-and-run on Singapore Gold Cup day.
Poon did not win the time-honoured classic with Preditor but, in the Group 3 Jumbo Jet Trophy (1,400m) earlier in August, he turned in a heady ride on that same horse to produce one of the most barnstorming finishes seen at Kranji.
A record of five more wins in 2018 padded up his Singapore score to 11 wins in 52 rides for a healthy strike rate of 21 per cent.
However, the graduation to the senior ranks in the tough arena that is Hong Kong racing has been less of a blitz, but he still made his mark. On average, he chalked up around 30 winners every season, with a personal best of 37 in the 2020-2021 campaign.
While Poon has yet to break his Group 1, let alone Group 2, duck in Hong Kong, he boasts five wins at Group 3 level, the latest being Butterfield in the 2021 Queen Mother Memorial Cup (2,400m).
He, however, sounded bitter when he described the last 2023-2024 season as his worst.
“It was my worst season ever. I won only 18 races, when I normally ride around 30 winners every year,” he said.
“I hope to do better next season. I don’t ride for the big trainers, but I do get support from some leading trainers like Ricky Yiu and Frankie Lor.”
The 2024-2025 Hong Kong season will commence at Sha Tin racecourse on Sept 8.
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