Fownes praises apprentice Wong's attitude as championship push continues

Caspar Fownes edged ever closer to a fifth trainers' championship on Wednesday night at Sha Tin and the champion trainer took the opportunity to single out the contribution of a rider who has had little to celebrate in recent months.

Apprentice Ellis Wong Chi-wang steered Silver Spurs to victory in the Class 4 Serving The Community Handicap, taking control from barrier 10 and leading all the way. It was Wong's first winner for the Fownes stable since Joao Moreira arrived in late April as the yard's retained rider for the championship run and only his second winner overall in that span.

Wong took full advantage of Moreira's absence, with the Brazilian serving out a careless riding suspension. Moreira is due to return for the final four meetings of the season, starting this Saturday at Sha Tin. 

The result meant Fownes finished the night five wins clear at the top of the standings with those four meetings left in the season. 

Fownes said his apprentice Wong had accepted a reduced role with good grace since Moreira's arrival.

"He's been great with us all season – that’s 21 wins for him this term – but it's been a quiet spell for him," Fownes said. "Obviously when Joao came in, being contracted to the stable, I've got to show the owners he's riding everything, because they're paying for that. The kid knew that. But there are times we'll get him on something half-decent, and luckily he got a winner tonight."

Fownes praised Wong's work ethic away from race day, saying he had continued turning up for trackwork and trials despite knowing he would not always get the ride in races.

"He hasn't missed a day's work. He's there, he goes to the trials and the trackwork, and even though he knows he's not going to ride them in the races, he's putting his hand up and contributing," Fownes said.

The trainer added that he had encouraged Wong to use the time around Moreira to develop as a rider.

"They gallop together, they walk back together, and I always told the kid: ask questions, keep your ears open and your mouth shut, and learn a little bit. He's a good kid," Fownes said.

The two trainers’ chasing Fownes for the titles both won races to keep their hopes alive. Danny Shum Chap-shing scored first-up with stable transfer Nyx Gluk to move to 61 wins, before Mark Newnham won with Lucky Sam Gor to go to 60.

It was Lucky Sam Gor’s fifth win of the season, scraping home to win by a short head under a daring, come-from-behind ride from Hugh Bowman, who scraped along the inside rail.

“Barrier one helped and so did a good ride from Hugh,” Newnham said. “And he's just very consistent through the whole season. So, he's a horse that takes the training well."

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