Jerry Chau turns momentum into Tony Cruz Award bid

Jerry Chau Chun-lok’s career is clearly on an upward trajectory.

From prodigal talent to a character-building trough, he has overcome the inevitable growing pains that early success can bring to become one of the leading local talents in Hong Kong. 

Chau was a record-setting apprentice in his first full season in Hong Kong, riding 58 winners to break Matthew Chadwick’s mark for the most wins by an apprentice in a single season. He graduated with his 70th Hong Kong win in 2021/22, but as is often the case once the claim is gone, support can quickly thin out.

Last season, suspensions further stunted his career development. Chau finished 16th in the jockeys’ premiership with 23 wins at 6.1 percent. This season has been a different story. Chau has already gone past that total and now has a first Tony Cruz Award squarely in his sights.

While Chau said he was not thinking too much about the award early in the season, it has now become a target. With three and a half months left in the campaign, he leads the race for the prize awarded to the season’s top local rider.

“I’ve never won this award yet but I really want to,” Chau told The Standard. “If I could win it this season, it would be excellent. This season is going smoothly, I’m very lucky with the support I am getting, and I hope to keep improving and getting good rides.”

Chau has emerged as one of the biggest improvers this term. He now sits fourth on the ladder with 31 wins, four ahead of Luke Ferraris and 10 behind Andrea Atzeni in third. He also holds a five-win lead over Vincent Ho Chak-yiu in the Tony Cruz Award race.

The clearest pattern in Chau’s season is the way it has gathered momentum. His early months were solid without being especially strong, but his results since the turn of the year have been much better. Since January 1, he has ridden 19 winners from 151 rides at a 12.6 percent strike rate.

That trend looks even stronger more recently. In his last 114 rides, he has 16 wins at 14.0 percent, which points to a season that has built as it has gone on.

February was the month he really made his presence felt, with nine wins from 44 rides at 20 percent. He carried that momentum into March, opening the month with a treble and bringing up his 200th Hong Kong win.

Chau then had to wait until mid-month for another winner, but he was back in business at Happy Valley on Wednesday night when he rode a race-to-race double for Danny Shum Champ-shing, their first wins together this season, as Shum’s four-timer lifted him into third in the trainers’ championship.

Chau takes that momentum into the final race day of the month with nine rides across the 11-race card, several of them for trainers who have been important to his season. He has four rides for Cody Mo Wai-kit, with the pair combining for nine wins from 63 attempts, and two for Mark Newnham, who has struck three times from 14 with Chau. He also picks up one ride each for David Eustace and Francis Lui Kin-wai, two more stables that have combined well with him this season.

Chau said he is most looking forward to continuing his partnership with Lui’s hat-trick-seeking Galactic Voyage in the Class 2 C W Chu Alumni Handicap over 1,200 meters (Race 9), where the progressive four-year-old meets a quality field that includes Patch Of Stars, Magnifique, and Jamie Richards-trained Bulb General returning from injury.

“He’s a quality horse and even though it’s his first time in Class 2, he carries a light weight and he’s in good form,” Chau said. “I’m very excited about how he will perform on Sunday.

“But I don’t think he is necessarily just a 1200m horse. In time, I think he can race up to the mile.”

Chau is also eager to reunite with Lucky Sam Gor for Newnham in the Class 3 S H Ho Alumni Handicap over 1,400m (Race 8) after the pair finished a weakening 13th in the second leg of the Classic Series, the Hong Kong Classic Cup over 1,800m.

“In the Classic Cup, with a good draw, we decided to be more positive. But it didn’t work out because we didn’t have cover at the halfway mark and we wasted too much energy. Back to 1,400m suits him better.”

He also rides Ace in the opening Class 5 over 1,400m, with the four-year-old making his first start for Newnham after eight runs for Douglas Whyte.

“When I trialed him, he gave me the feeling of being better than Class 5. He gave me a good feeling. He’s got a better draw this time and hopefully his luck can turn around.”

Chau also reunites with Nyx Gluck for Cody Mo in the Class 4 Chuk Alumni Cup Handicap over 1,400m (Race 6) and is hoping for better luck after the gelding’s last-start 10th, when he struck trouble in running under Hugh Bowman. Chau is yet to win aboard the five-year-old in three rides, but he has finished close up on each occasion.

“Nyx Gluck is a nice horse but he is a bit immature and he can make some mistakes in his races. But he keeps improving and this time a good draw and the step back up to 1,400m will suit him.”

Looking beyond Sunday, Chau is relishing the chance to partner Voyage Bubble in the Group 2 Chairman’s Trophy the following Monday after riding him in a trial on Thursday morning.

“He gave me a very good feeling, quiet, and he listened to me. He’s got a very beautiful stride and I am happy with him. I was easy on him early and let him do his best work late.”