Francis Lui's Patch of Gold

Francis Lui Kin-wai will not win the trainers’ championship this season, but nobody has ruled Sha Tin quite like him this season.

Lui averaged just over 25 wins a season through his first 21 campaigns, but the arrival of the mighty Golden Sixty transformed the veteran into a perennial contender – runner-up twice before his breakthrough 70-win premiership in 2023-24, and never far from the mark since. He finished fourth last season with 50 wins and a strike rate a little above 10 per cent, and the numbers read similarly this term: 56 wins at 10.5 per cent, fourth on the ladder with two meetings left and David Hayes close behind on 54.

Sha Tin, though, is where Lui has really separated himself this season, and he is well represented again when the track stages its final meeting of the campaign on Sunday. He has a two-pronged attack in the Class 1 mile for horses rated 85 and above, while Gold Patch lines up in the Class 3 over 1,200m as one of the young horses who have helped shape his campaign.

The three-year-old is one of several promising types unveiled by Lui this season, with the stable also in line to claim the Champion Griffin award for the first time through Hot Delight or Baby Sakura.

That has been the theme of Lui’s season: strong numbers at Sha Tin, and a young team giving him something to look forward to.

Last Saturday was a case in point. Lui went into the meeting with 40 Sha Tin turf wins this term, eight clear of John Size, then stretched his tally to 42 with a double from three-year-olds Almighty Warrior and Graceful Heart.

That left him well clear of everyone else on Sha Tin’s turf this season, with championship leader Caspar Fownes on 18 wins at the track and Danny Shum Chap-shing on 19.

Gold Patch is one of the horses Lui hopes can take the next step next season. He has won three of his five starts this term, all at Sha Tin, and Lui described him as “a nice horse for the future”.

The usual caveat from Lui with his young brigade is that the off-season matters.

“I’ve got some nice three-year-olds who will be turning four. They all can perform, but in the off-season they will need to improve, get stronger and mature.”

Francis Lui Track Stats

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓