When Dylan Mo Hing-tung was legged aboard Winning Wing before February’s Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup in the Sha Tin parade ring, he could never have imagined what happened next.
As he circled the parade ring for the final time before heading out for his first ever Group 1 ride, facing the might of Romantic Warrior, an unfamiliar sound started emanating from the seats. First a ripple, a smattering of applause, then a more full-throated cheer.
The crowd was behind Mo and Winning Wing as they faced mission impossible in the set-weights Group 1 over 2,000 meters – and the 32-year-old jockey felt the love.
"I was a little bit shocked – and then I just went and did my best. But I didn't expect it," he said of the reaction. "I felt very excited, and happy, to even be riding in that race."
Hong Kong racegoers are notoriously fickle and have long had a reputation for caring more about gambling than sentiment – known for cheering a number, not a name. But that is clearly changing.
Horses like Golden Sixty, and more recently Romantic Warrior and Ka Ying Rising, have sparked a type of fandom more commonly found in a soccer stadium. Alongside the support for those superstars is a heartfelt desire to cheer the underdog – and Mo fits the bill.
Winning Wing didn't win the Gold Cup. He was a well-beaten third, but the placing gave Mo a moment to remember on a horse that has delivered three of his four winners this season from just 99 rides.
"He has been a very good horse for me," Mo said.
Trainer Francis Lui Kin-wai has confirmed the main aims beyond Sunday's 1800m Class 2 are the Group 3 Queen Mother Memorial Handicap on May 3 and the Group 1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup three weeks later, where a set-weights rematch with Romantic Warrior awaits. Both are over 2400m – a distance Winning Wing has never tried, but one that looks tailor-made for the grinder.
Sunday's 1800m looks sharp on face value. Winning Wing has won once from five attempts at the trip, a short-head score with Mo aboard in Class 3 just over a year ago. He brings the standout formline into the race after 49 days off and has trialed well, but faces a Derby fourth Patch Of Cosmo – reunited with Zac Purton – plus in-form Joy Of Spring.
Mo has been encouraged by the stayer's willingness to sit closer, but won't chase position at the expense of rhythm.
"I want to be closer in the field but I can't afford to break his momentum," Mo said. "The main thing is to be strong in the finish."
"Over a longer distance I will have more of a chance, but at this trip I will still have a chance.
