Poon in dreamland after Group 1 call-up

By Jack Dawling

Matthew Poon Ming-fai, who earned his nickname "The Poon train" during a prolific stint as an apprentice in Australia, is excited about returning to where it all started for him, saying it is a "dream come true" to get the call-up to ride Klondike in next week's Group 1 Doomben Cup.

Poon will return to Australia for the 2,000-meter G1 – which will be simulcast to Hong Kong racing fans – nearly a decade on from his first win in the country in October 2015.

The 31-year-old, who is enjoying a stellar season here, told The Standard he was pleasantly surprised to receive a message from Klondike's owner, Matthew Li Man-hei, asking if he would ride the G3 winner in the Doomben Cup.

"It's nearly a decade since my first win in Australia so it's a dream come true really – I can't thank the owner enough," Poon said.

"To be honest, I was really surprised to get a message from Mr Li for the ride. He owned horses in Singapore with trainer Shane Baertschiger and at that time, I was riding for the trainer."

Klondike claimed a G3 win in France when he was trained by William Haggas in England and will bid to kick on for his new trainers, John O'Shea and Tom Charlton, after a below-par effort at Randwick last month on stable debut.