Apprentice Britney Wong Po-ni ended a winless start to the season at Sha Tin on Wednesday, steering odds-on favorite Happydearhappydeer to a two-length win in the opening race for trainer Tony Cruz.
The win in the Class Five Wa Mei Shan Handicap (1,650 meters) on the all-weather track came at Wong's 61st ride of the campaign.
"It's been almost two months since the season started, and two months without a winner feels like forever," Wong said. "But I'm glad I got the winner today for Tony."
Wong has battled while fellow female apprentice Nichola Yuen Hang-yiu has surged, helped by her bigger weight allowance.
Cruz kept Wong aboard after the pair finished second on October 4, when the horse was slow away.
"At his first start of the season he could have won, but he was too slow at the start," Cruz said. "This time he jumped well, and I said, 'We're halfway home.' Britney rode a perfect race."
Wong said she had been working on her jump. "Today we jumped well, got a nice position, the perfect spot, and traveled nicely," she said. "I was a bit concerned for a while, but luckily the gap appeared, and the horse gave me a very good kick."
Cruz praised the owner's patience after Happydearhappydeer injured a tendon early on. "It's really difficult for a horse to come back from that and start racing again," he said. "At least the horse has won a race now."
Wong leaned on jockeys and trainers through the drought. "This is just how it works in this industry," she said. "You get your ups and downs, so the only thing I can do is keep my head down and keep pushing."
"I wasn't winning, which makes it harder to get more support," she said of the past two months. "So hopefully this winner can kick things off."
