Caspar Fownes expects Joao Moreira’s return to light up Happy Valley on Wednesday as the ‘Magic Man’ begins a three-month stint as Fownes’ stable rider.
“Everyone’s buzzed. Really buzzed. You watch Wednesday, there’ll be a real buzz at the track and you’ll see something special. Crowds will come for him,” Fownes said.
That buzz was on show in December when Moreira returned for the International Jockeys’ Championship. He rode the first two winners on the card, both for Fownes, and the crowd packed around the parade ring responded accordingly.
Fownes had been trying to bring Moreira back as his stable rider since before December, but his first push was knocked back after officials told him the roster was already set. He was finally given the green light in late February.
At that point, Fownes was leading the trainers’ championship with 36 wins, one clear of Mark Newnham, but now the race has turned, with Newnham now leading 47-43. Moreira’s arrival looks like a title play, but Fownes said it was never just about that and believes the move is great for Hong Kong racing.
Moreira’s return brings back a four-time Hong Kong champion jockey whose impact on the local racing scene was immediate after his arrival in 2013. He went on to break multiple riding records, including when he rode eight winners on a single card on March 5, 2017, before a sudden but brief departure in 2018. He returned as John Size’s stable rider for the 2018/19 season and stayed through 2022.
Fownes and Moreira team up in all nine races at Wednesday’s Happy Valley meeting to begin the stint with what the trainer described as some “choice rides.”
“Hopefully a winner or two. That would be awesome. It would be a great way to start,” Fownes said.
