Jerry Chau Chun-lok will likely be watching on a phone screen in Riyadh when the horse that has helped transform his season tries to punch a ticket to the Hong Kong Classic Cup without him.
By the time Lucky Sam Gor jumps from the gates at Sha Tin on Saturday afternoon, Chau will be watching from half a world away, committed to ride the horse that helped spark his 2025/26 season turnaround. The 25-year-old will ride Self Improvement in the G2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint (1200m, dirt) at King Abdulaziz Racecourse later that evening. It is the kind of sacrifice that only comes when a jockey's career is moving fast enough to pull him in two directions at once.
Three of Chau's 24 wins this season have come aboard Lucky Sam Gor, including the last two in succession – a surge that has catapulted the Mark Newnham-trained four-year-old from a rating of 45 to 76 and placed him on the doorstep of the four-year-old Classic Series. Saturday's Class 3 for four-year-olds rated 60-85 is where the dream either stays alive or dies: Newnham has crunched the numbers and believes 80 will be roughly the cutoff for a Classic Cup start on March 1 over 1800m, the main stepping stone toward the BMW Hong Kong Derby three weeks later.
"I probably would have preferred if he'd had enough points to go straight to the Classic Cup, but I've got to run him again," Newnham said. "He's a pretty solid horse. He's come through the last win well."
Everybody in Hong Kong racing wants to win the Derby but Newnham is adamant it isn’t owners' ambition driving the Lucky Sam Gor push.
"It's not just about fulfilling a dream – it's about getting the best out of the horse," he said. "If he's qualified, he'll be running, because you only get one chance at a Four-year-old Classic Series."
Australian James Orman picks up the ride in Chau's absence and Newnham clearly thought carefully about a stylistic match. "James rides on a nice long rein, rides patiently, gets horses to relax – that's what we need," he said, adding the 1800m of the Classic Cup holds no fears after Lucky Sam Gor showed signs at his last start he is learning to switch off in the run.
Chau, meanwhile, has been here before. He made a similar sacrifice early in the campaign, skipping opening day at Sha Tin to fly to Seoul and partner Self Improvement in the Korea Sprint. He won. That single trip lit the fuse on a comeback season that has already surpassed last term's tally of 23 wins and carried him to fourth in the jockeys' championship.
Now he rolls the dice again, this time against serious international dirt firepower including Bob Baffert's Imagination.
"It's my honour to represent Hong Kong around the world," Chau said. "I will give my all and put my heart into this trip."
Two horses, two continents, on one super Saturday – and Hong Kong’s hottest jockey trusting that fortune will continue to favor the bold.
