Joao Moreira says it would “fulfil a wish” to join Caspar Fownes on a short-term licence if the trainer’s application is approved by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and that he feels fitter than he has in three years thanks to new hip treatment.
The Brazilian great, a four-time champion jockey in Hong Kong during nine exhilarating years there, returned to his home city of Curitiba and relinquished his full-time Hong Kong licence in November 2022 citing debilitating hip pain and psychological stress.
Moreira has since based himself in Brazil and rides internationally at major events, including as an occasional fly-in for big races in Hong Kong. His last two rides in Hong Kong resulted in two winners on Champions Day at Sha Tin in April, including a Class 3 success on Fownes-trained Family Jewel.
The 42-year-old is currently riding a short stint in Japan, which he kicked off last weekend with six wins from 21 rides, including the G3 Challenge Cup at Hanshin.
He will partner Japan’s top sprinter Satono Reve in the G1 Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama on September 28 before returning to Brazil. And he could yet team up with Satono Reve in the G1 Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin in December without having to come off a long-haul flight from Brazil.
Idol Horse broke the news on Monday that Fownes had made an informal approach to senior Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) executives about teaming up with Moreira as his stable rider through the latter part of this year.
The club has not yet received a formal application but Fownes confirmed to Idol Horse on Tuesday, “I will be signing the forms in the coming days,” and indicated club officials had made positive noises.
Meanwhile, Moreira told Idol Horse that he is “happy to go back to Hong Kong for a short period to ride for Caspar and hopefully we can get some winners,” while emphasising that he has no intention of seeking a full-season licence in Hong Kong.
“Home in Brazil is where I wanted to be and it’s where I’m happy,” he continued. “I still get chances to go overseas and if I wanted to go and be in another place full-time, I could be, but I just want to be based at home, I really have no reason to complain about things.
“My goal for Hong Kong is to go there and try my very best for Caspar and his owners for a short time. I’m still riding well, my strike rate has been really high: I know Hong Kong is more competitive, however, I’m having some different treatment on my hip and I’ve never felt better since I started having those hip problems.”
Moreira revealed that the discussions about returning to Hong Kong on a short-term basis have been ongoing with Fownes over a prolonged period but that his commitments in Brazil – notably to the Pelanda family’s Haras Rio Iguassu owner-breeder operation – had to be taken into consideration first.
He expects to ride for Haras Rio Iguassu in the G1 Gran Premio Latinoamericano at Gavea on October 18.
“Once I’ve done that, I can go for up to about 60 days without harming my relationship with the owner back home because there is not a big race that he really needs me for,” he said.
“Also, I’ll be fulfilling the wish of Caspar by going to Hong Kong for a little bit, also fulfilling a desire for myself of riding back there in a place where I have some amazing memories and good friends.”
Moreira’s latest visit to Hong Kong was in April for Champions Day when he spoke to Fownes and made informal mention to senior club officials about returning for more than a fly-in-fly-out race day booking, initially about the possibility of a short-term club licence.
“Caspar has been asking me to come back and ride a little bit for him for quite some time,” Moreira said. “I’ve been kind of pushing him back saying I’d love to but when the time is right, because I’m retained by the Pelanda family, they’re a big owner back in Brazil, they have been very good to me and I have that commitment to them.”
Moreira enjoyed Group 1 success for Haras Rio Iguassu just two weekends ago when he partnered their Star Do Iguassu to victory in the Grande Premio Ipiranga.
“They have about 300 horses and they’re counting on me for the main races,” he said. “But the deal I’ve done with the family is that for me to lock myself in with somebody I would have to have some freedom to go to some other places when I want, and they were kind enough to let me go away.
“So, the last three years since I left Hong Kong, I’ve been to lots of different places and I’ve spent quite a bit of time outside of Brazil, which was my goal when I left Hong Kong. That’s what I wanted to do because at that time, with how the injury was then, I didn’t think I was going to have such a career left.”
When Moreira first left Hong Kong in pain, he believed his time in the saddle was drawing to a close, but regenerative therapy has prolonged his career. Until recently, he has been able to continue riding by undergoing Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) treatment, which involves the painful procedure of drawing blood, concentrating platelets within plasma and then injecting it into the injured area. This causes inflammation which sparks a healing reaction.
But the rider found that over time, the period of relief he gained from the PRP treatment shortened. He has instead undergone a different regenerative therapy, an invasive stem cell treatment which draws cells from his own bone marrow; the cells are concentrated and injected into Moreira’s hip.
“None of the other treatments I’ve done before has been this successful,” Moreira said. “The PRP was working at the beginning, lasting six to eight months, then every time I’ve done it, it shortens up, so let’s see how this one will work. But the outcome of this one so far is much better.
“I cannot guarantee how long it’s going to last but for the time being, well, I wish I could be like this for a longer period of time.”
In the meantime, Moreira’s Hong Kong supporters can look forward to the prospect of several weeks of watching again firsthand the brilliance the ‘Magic Man’ brought to Sha Tin and Happy Valley during his days as the circuit’s redefining force. ∎
