It was sometime in the last few seasons when Derek Leung Ka-chun walked into the Hong Kong jockeys’ room, glanced around and something clicked.
“I realised I was the second-oldest local jockey,” he says with a grin, sweat still drying as he cools off after a gruelling hot yoga session in Causeway Bay. “But not old – experienced. I’m only 37 and feel better than ever.”
For Leung, experience – both on track and off – has become his strength. Sitting in the yoga studio’s lounge, high above the hustle and bustle of the commercial district’s intensity below, Leung speaks with the reflective, measured tone of the young veteran he has become. He is closing in on a major milestone – 500 winners – an achievement that would make him just the 15th jockey in Hong Kong racing history to reach the mark.
Leung’s progress has always been measured against what has become a “golden generation” of local jockeys – he was classmates at the Apprentice Jockeys’ School with rivals Matthew Chadwick and Keith Yeung Ming-lun – who is only a few months older than Leung. Also in their group was now-assistant trainer Ben So Tik-hung. One class behind them was Vincent Ho Chak-yiu. Together, the five riders have 2,153 wins combined and counting. Most importantly, they have changed the perception of what Hong Kong’s home-grown riders can achieve.
“We push each other,” Leung says. “When Matthew started, he was flying. Then Vincent had his time with Golden Sixty. We all work hard, support each other, and keep coming back stronger.”
Leung credits that drive – and his own discipline – for keeping him sharp. “I take care of myself more carefully now than when I was younger. Yoga, fitness, diet – everything is more professional.”
His approach is rooted in his upbringing. The son of a Kowloon taxi driver, Leung grew up in a humble housing estate. “Just a normal, local kid,” he recalls. “Playing with the neighbours, running around. It keeps you grounded.”
That steely focus was further sharpened when he became a father. He is married to media commentator Kitty Li Kit-Ying and they have two young children.
“Having kids made me more patient,” Leung says. “It gives you responsibility. I have to stay fit, earn money, and pay the bills. There’s no time to waste.”
At 37, Leung is far from done. He still sees at least five more years – maybe ten – of race riding ahead of him.
“My fitness is good, my mind is good. I just want to keep improving my CV – more winners, and hopefully more big ones.”
One of those “big ones” could be when Lucky Sweynesse contests the G1 Sprinters’ Stakes on 28 September at Nakayama, near Tokyo. “He’s a very good horse,” Leung says. “He came back from injury, got better with each run. If I can get him another Group 1, that would be special.”
For now though, the focus is on the next two winners – and number 500 – and on proving that his “experience” is not just a euphemism for age, but his edge. ∎
