Sha Tin cheers for happy Yuen after dream start to Hong Kong career

Hong Kong’s newest apprentice Nichola Yuen Hang Yiu did not have to wait long for her first winner, striking on just her second ride of the night.

“I can’t believe that at my first meeting here in Hong Kong I got a winner straight away, so I’m very happy to receive the opportunity from Mr Yip,” Yuen said. “Thank you very much to the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the apprentice school, Amy Chan and Mr Felix Coetzee.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for quite a while, so it’s very emotional. I’m very happy for myself as well.”

Yuen kicked off her apprenticeship with a fourth aboard her master Ricky Yiu Poon-fai’s Double Bingo in the first race and had to wait until race four for her next chance, partnering Dennis Yip Chor-hong’s well-fancied Pi Legend.

She had trialed Pi Legend leading into tonight’s race, when the pair pinged to the front and won their heat by eight and a half lengths, and those same tactics looked likely to come into play under race conditions.

Despite only a fair break from the outside gate in barrier 12, Yuen did not panic. She allowed her mount to find its stride while pressing forward, took up the lead before the 900-meter mark in the 1,200-meter Class 4, and then gradually worked across to the rail approaching the 700m.

“It was a bit of a tricky gate today, and my horse is an on-pace type, but I could see there were also two on-pace horses on my inside that I had to watch,” she said.

“But my horse gave me a very good feeling after the jump. He gave me very good momentum to slide to the front without pushing. So the horse helped me, and himself, to save energy, get into a good tempo, get his mid-race breather, and then give a kick in the straight.”

Pi Legend traveled strongly under Yuen turning for home, while none of her rivals looked to have enough in reserve to pose a serious threat in the straight. It was only approaching the 250-meter mark that Yuen had to call on Pi Legend, who maintained a length-and-a-quarter margin over Speedy Smartie to the finish.