A key moment 1200 meters from home in the Zhuhai Handicap at Happy Valley on Sunday showed how fierce the competition is for the final two places in this year’s LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) on December 9.
Vincent Ho Chak-yiu barged The Boom Box clear of Jerry Chau Chun-lok and Dazzling Fit, and the shove proved pivotal as he held on by a short head.
Ho was pinned on the inside of Chau as the pace slowed, so he pulled out and forced his path. The momentum and margin he gained gave The Boom Box enough to hold off Dazzling Fit, who checked off heels in the straight and finished fast for second.
“It wasn’t very nice to just barge someone out, but it worked, of course,” Ho said.
Trainer Chris So Wai-yin backed the call. “He told me the pace was too slow, so he had no choice,” So said. “I think it was a good decision because otherwise he would have been stuck inside.”
Ho rode a double, adding Incredible Moment, and Chau won on Grit Spirit. Local riders have won 17 of the past 23 races, including six of 10 on Sunday, as Nichola Yuen Hang-yiu, Matthew Chadwick and Dylan Mo Hin-tung also scored.
Ho became the first homegrown rider to win the IJC in 2023. “Yeah, we’re fighting. Of course it’s important, and it’s a privilege and fun to be in the IJC, competing against all the top jockeys around the world,” he said.
The competition is most fierce near the top. Hugh Bowman’s injury has left local riders in second to fifth on the jockeys’ championship, so two IJC places could go to homegrown riders: one to the next-ranked jockey behind Zac Purton, the other to the leading local.
They will join reigning jockeys’ champion Purton and a field including James McDonald, Joao Moreira, Ryan Moore and Christophe Lemaire.
Seven meetings remain before the standings lock at Happy Valley on November 25, and judging by Sunday’s battle between Ho and Chau, nobody looks ready to give an inch.
Yuen leads the locals on 17 winners but cannot ride, because indentured apprentices claiming an allowance are ineligible. That leaves Chau on 15 wins and Ho on 14 in line to qualify, and Derek Leung Ka-chun three behind on 11.
Chau’s chances received a serious blow from stewards though. He will serve a suspension after being found guilty of careless riding on Lucky Sam Gor at Sha Tin on Wednesday, when he shifted out near the 350 meters and checked Supreme Agility. He was fined HK$60,000 and will miss two racedays, November 14 and 18, a costly gap in a tight race.
