Hong Kong 2024/25 Season Preview: Jockeys

Which Jockey Will Be This Season’s Biggest Improver?

Michael Cox: Brenton Avdulla. Go back and listen to or read any interview with any champion jockey from this century and you will find a common obsession: trainer support.

Actually, you only have to listen to three people because that is how many have won the title since 2000: Douglas Whyte, Zac Purton and Joao Moreira. Support from the ‘big stables’ – particularly John Size can provide the bedrock of success. 

Now, who the ‘big stables’ are has broadened in recent years to include the likes of Francis Lui, Ricky Yiu, Frankie Lor and, over the last two seasons, Pierre Ng.

Still, being a go-to guy for Tony Cruz, as Avdulla has become (13 wins at 13.7% including the G1 Al Quoz Sprint on California Spangle), and in the tight Size rotation (10 wins at 8.8%) still counts for plenty.

Watch for Avdulla to vault up the rankings after 33 wins in his first full season, especially if ‘the Gun’ can work his way into being regular number one pick for Size and generate more support from the locals.

Luke Middlebrook: I’m going with another Australian in Hugh Bowman. Bowman faced a challenging 2023-24 season, but with some luck, avoiding the stewards’ room, and staying injury-free, he has much to look forward to in 2024-25.

After starting strongly with 17 wins from the first 10 meetings last term, his season took a downturn. Two careless riding suspensions in October led to missing five consecutive meetings. A fall in November sidelined Bowman for an additional 12 meetings. By season’s end, he had missed 27 meetings, 15 of which were due to suspensions.

Bowman is intent on improving his disciplinary record and if he can follow through  he stands a good chance of bettering last season’s third-place finish and 69 win return. 

David Morgan: Like Hugh Bowman, my pick is also coming off a suspension and injury-plagued season…

Vincent Ho ended 2022-23 with a career-best 96 wins for the campaign and was expected to cement his place as a ‘top three’ rider.

But up stepped cruel fate: two crushing falls and a controversial ban meant that he missed 33 of the season’s 88 meetings. Ho posted a final tally for the term of 41 wins to place seventh in the standings, way below his previous season’s haul, but at an 11.5% win strike rate, which was the fourth best in the jockeys’ room.

He still has the strong backing of champion trainer Francis Lui, and further support from Pierre Ng’s powerful stable, as well as his old boss Caspar Fownes. It stands to reason that if Vincent can stay injury free and out of the stewards’ room, he should improve markedly on last term and be back battling at the high end of the standings.

Steven Ho: Andrea Atzeni was the quiet achiever of the jockey ranks in 2023/24. His 48 winners was good enough for fourth and his two G3 wins with Taj Dragon and Nimble Nimbus indicate his growing reputation as a trusted set of hands in a big race (Atzeni also won a Group 1 in Australia on a fly-in, fly-out mission for Ciaron Maher in the 2024 Sydney Cup aboard Circle Of Fire).

Atzeni’s versatility allows him to ride horses with different styles, no matter if they are leader, midfielder or backmarker. 

He is making the most of his light weight and has gained the trust of trainers: Atzeni has a broad base of support, winning for 14 different stables last season. Expect new trainer David Eustace to be a staunch supporter of Atzeni this season, who is capable of breaking into the top three with 55-plus wins. 

Andrew Le Jeune: A case could be made for a lot of jockeys that filled the middle part of the Jockeys’ Championship rankings last season. Eleven jockeys rode between 20 and 40 winners in 2023/24 and all of them will see it as a foundation on which to build.

Of that group, other than superstar part-timer James McDonald and claiming apprentice Ellis Wong, Harry Bentley had the best strike rate, his 39 wins coming at 9.5%. 

Don’t forget that Bentley spent two months sidelined for a betting-related suspension. Particularly noteworthy is the way Bentley rides Happy Valley: his 22 wins there and strike rate of 12% are both top five overall. 

Zac Out, Who Wins The Jockey Title?

Steven Ho: Karis Teetan is the most consistent jockey in Hong Kong. Low weight, good relationship with all trainers and owner, honest and friendly. These attributes will make him a Jockeys’ Championship contender in future years. Vincent Ho will have his eyes on the crown too but I think Karis handles on-pace horses better. On-pace runners generally have an advantage on Hong Kong’s relatively tight tracks and this might be the key to Karis winning the title one day.  

Michael Cox: Another vote for the ‘rubber ball’ of Hong Kong racing in Karis: he just keeps bouncing back. The Mauritian has suffered his share of adversity in recent seasons, most notably a health scare in 2022-23 and losing the ride on Romantic Warrior, a consistent theme throughout his career. In 2023-24 Teetan was second in the Championship with a career-best 86 winners. So when it comes to the question of ‘Zac out, who wins’, then why isn’t the logical answer ‘the guy who finished second’?

Many would make the simple argument that Teetan just isn’t as good a jockey as Hugh Bowman – and that Bowman was hampered by injury and suspension last season – but being a great jockey and great ‘Hong Kong jockey’ are two different things. Turning up every day ready for work is half the battle and being capable of riding minimum weight might be worth 20 or 30 winners. Teetan’s competitiveness, fearless riding and ever-positive attitude have carried him a long way. 

Don’t look now but the 34 year-old Teetan has 689 career wins, seventh all-time. Teetan is about to hit a sweet spot in his career where athleticism meets experience and reputation. Hopefully next time he finds a rising star in the lower grades, he gets to stay on it.

David Morgan: Well, I’ve made the ‘biggest improver’ case for Vincent Ho and I’m taking that further and saying he could well be the man to lead the chase against Purton, and eventually become champion. As mentioned above, he still has the support of his strong base, and it wouldn’t take much more backing from a few other trainers to make him a clear second pick. But then, if Vincent really wants it – goes against his natural instinct and pushes himself to get in a few faces – it’s not altogether improbable that he could emerge as a viable threat to Zac’s supremacy. 

Andrew Le Jeune: I don’t think it will be a cake walk for Purton and I fully expect him to win an eighth championship. But there are some quality riders snapping at his heels and if Hugh Bowman gets a clear run at the season ahead, he might even join Purton, Whyte and Moreira as the only jockeys to have ridden more than 100 winners in a season.

Bowman is a go-to jockey on the big days at Sha Tin and has an excellent strike rate at Happy Valley as well, with only Purton having a higher win percentage last season overall.

Luke Middlebrook: Who would benefit most with Zac out? It’s anyone’s guess where trainers would turn, but with Bowman seemingly set for a stronger season, one might expect him to attract better support from bigger-name trainers, including John Size, for whom he only rode 44 times last season compared to Purton’s 100.

Getting more involved with the Francis Lui camp could boost his win tally, and strengthening his partnership with Pierre Ng could further enhance his chances in the title race.

James McDonald Is Clearly The Jockey Club’s Number One Target … But Who Else Should Be On The Radar?

David Morgan: Let’s cut to the chase here, Hong Kong is long overdue licensing a top-class female rider. It’s more than 16 years since the club tested the water and brought in Canadian star Emma-Jayne Wilson on a licence, but that ended quickly and has not been repeated. 

It’s time to try again, particularly as Britney Wong has just been granted an apprentice licence, the first female in that position since Kei Chiong’s remarkable career burned out quickly in 2017. Chiong faced a ton of pressure, she was lauded at her fleeting peak, but also cosseted and shielded by well-meaning but misguided club officials during her career, to such an extent that she was placed in an unhelpful bubble; hopefully that mistake will not be repeated.

It would be great if Wong had an experienced presence alongside her in the women’s room, to take the pressure and focus away from her, and I think Rachel King would be a great fit.

But all of that aside, King should be brought in anyway because she is a very good jockey: she’s been a top 10 rider in Sydney in her time, against the likes of James McDonald, Nash Rawiller, Kerrin McEvoy and Tommy Berry. She has ridden almost 650 winners; not only that, she’s picked up 36 Group race wins, including five Group 1 victories. To top it off, the English rider has proven that she’s mentally tough, can adapt to new cultures and environments – she had 16 wins in Japan last winter, too – she rides light, and she has a strong connection to second-season Hong Kong trainer Mark Newnham.

Michael Cox: I’m looking at that same pool. Take your pick of this talented young trio: Tyler Schiller, Zac Lloyd or Dylan Gibbons. Any one of Sydney racing’s new wave of young talent could be fast-tracked into Sha Tin, especially for the kind of cameo the likes of eventual stars Maxime Guyon, Tommy Berry, Mickael Barzalona, Damian Lane, Oisin Murphy and others used in their developing years.

Not every young star on ‘loan’ at Sha Tin turns into a permanent fixture in Hong Kong, but any of the three Sydney-based riders strike the sort of profile that works. 

Sydney’s similarly styled right-hand racing is the most proven of nurseries, think right back to former Sydney ‘imports’ Shane Dye and Darren Beadman, through Zac Purton, Hugh Bowman, Tye Angland, Tim Clark, Tommy Berry, Chad Schofield, Sam Clipperton and now Brenton Avdulla. 

The 25-year-old Schiller gets the nod as the most mature and advanced of the aforementioned trio and his strong association with his former boss Mark Newnham helps. 

Luke Middlebrook: Well, ‘where-to next’ for emerging talent Bruno Queiroz, the young Brazilian rider who has taken Singapore by storm since mid-last year?

Queiroz is a two-time champion jockey for the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons back home and was inspired to make a name for himself outside Brazil by watching his godfather, Joao Moreira, take the world by storm. Since arriving in Singapore, he’s rapidly risen to the top and is currently locked in a fierce battle with compatriot Manoel Nunes—53 wins to 49—for the final champion jockey title.

There’s no doubt Queiroz’s future looks bright, but with Singapore closing in October, time is not on his side to continue building his profile. He seems to have the skillset that would be enough to make a start, but competing there would only help him become a better rider over time.

Steven Ho: Cieren Fallon has already established himself in European racing as a two-time champion apprentice earlier in his career. His ability has been recognised by Qatar Racing as they recruited him as their second jockey, and even though he is no longer working under that banner, he still has 34 wins at a 13% strike rate in Britain this year. He is only 25, has a couple of Group 1 wins to his name, and I think the move to Asia is worth a try for him.

Andrew Le Jeune: Yuga Kawada has an X-Factor and is more than familiar with Sha Tin and Happy Valley through his appearances in the International Jockey Challenge and some big race rides on Japanese raiders at Sha Tin. The language barrier might be a problem but Kawada will just let his riding do the talking. Getting Kawada to give up his battle with Christophe Lemaire for the Japan Racing Association (JRA) jockeys’ championship will be the tricky part.  

Zac Purton Rode 130 Winners Last Season … So Let’s Set The Line At 130.5 Wins. Over Or Under?

Luke Middlebrook: The more I think about arguing against ‘under’, the more ridiculous it seems. Despite all the challenges Purton openly discussed last season, he still managed to rack up 130 wins.

But let’s take a look at the main contenders who could cut into Purton’s win tally. If Bowman stays on the right side of the stewards and Vincent Ho has a change of luck and remains injury-free, they’re both in for more wins this campaign.

Teetan and Atzeni’s biggest supporter last season was Pierre Ng, accounting for 31 of his wins—strong numbers that will stand them in good stead if that relationship continues to blossom.

At the end of the day, support from owners and trainers will be pivotal in determining who gets the best opportunities. Purton himself mentioned to our own David Morgan that “the horses are getting spread around a lot more these days than they used to.”

Related Story

Zac Purton, Hong Kong Trainer? Nicole ‘Pushing’ For New Chapter

So, behind the scenes, who’s hungriest for opportunity? Purton has Douglas Whyte’s all-time record of wins firmly in his sights this season and could return hungrier than ever.

Michael Cox: A member of the Idol Horse team cheekily suggested the question should have been: “130.5 pounds, over or under?” After a lavish off-season trip to a range of exotic locales, Purton returned to trackwork weighing in at 130 pounds. The local press have been on “Zac weight-watching” mode and one newspaper quoted the jockey saying he was avoiding “that tasty pork” at the pre-season Bai Sun ceremonies. 

Seriously though, Purton will turn up for the first race of the season ready to fire. This one just comes down to motivation: will this be Purton’s last season? Odds are that it is likely. There’s not much point speculating because Purton himself may not know. 

Purton starts his 18th season in Hong Kong 73 wins short of Douglas Whyte’s all-time record for most wins (1,813) and passing the mark will leave the Australian with seemingly nothing left to prove. Few jockeys in Hong Kong racing history can make things happen through the sheer force of will that Purton is able to muster and my ‘overs’ prediction is simply based on Purton’s professional pride. If Purton wants to ride more than 130, and makes it his goal, he will ride more. He will want to be remembered as leaving at the top of his game, not a season too late as many of his rivals have. 

Purton will want Whyte’s record out of the way as soon as possible, but if he is on a roll, he might just have the momentum to fly through 130 wins and eat as much as he can, winners wise, before he retires. 

David Morgan: I agree with that. Purton is at his best when he feels opposition, or that there’s something to prove. If he senses that people are doubting him, he’ll dig deeper just to kick as much of it as he can back in the doubters’ faces. He’s a great champion and a fierce competitor, so I expect him to come out fighting, perhaps one last time, to remind everyone of the old grit that got him into a position to let his rare talent shine in the first place; the same grit that carried him through those epic, mind and body-sapping title battles with Moreira.

Steven Ho: After seeing his passionate celebration after he won the 2024 Hong Kong Derby with Massive Sovereign, I felt that Zac doesn’t have long left as a jockey in Hong Kong.

To me, his only target now is to break the record of all-time winners in Hong Kong set by Douglas Whyte. With no Joao Moreira-like rival threatening his champion status, Purton might put it in cruise control – taking more mid-season breaks or riding heavier – and take his time getting to the record. 

We all know Zac has been troubled with different injuries and ailments in recent seasons, and he is not the young man in the jockeys’ room anymore. I believe he will give himself space and time this season, so in terms of winners, I will go under 130.

What Headline Would You Most Like To See?

Luke Middlebrook: “From Rio To Kranji To Sha Tin, Young-Gun Queiroz To Make Hong Kong Home”—has the Club lost its appetite for Brazilian jockeys after the long betting bans handed down to Silvestre de Sousa and Vagner Borges? Queiroz has the potential to develop into a world-class rider, and fostering his talent in Hong Kong’s competitive scene could prove to be a long-term boost to the ranks there.
 
Michael Cox: “HKJC Adds Much-Needed Jockey Roster Diversity Via Short-Term Contracts”—even though I have made the case for yet another Sydneysider, Hong Kong racing is at its best when there are a wide variety of jurisdictions and styles represented. In the World Pool era, let’s see some diversity. How about recruiting a female, an American, a Japanese star or a top-ranked rider from a lesser-known jurisdiction? 

Steven Ho: “Mickaëlle Michel Hong Kong’s Newest Star”—with new apprentice Britney Wong catching the eyes of Hong Kong racing fans, how about another female jockey to compete with her? There were some rumours about Michel a few years ago. She also visited Hong Kong and showed up at the racecourse, sending the local media into a frenzy. If she still fails in her effort to gain a JRA license, why not consider Hong Kong?

David Morgan: “Purton And Ho Neck-And-Neck Into The Season Finale”—because who doesn’t love a bit of last day drama? It would be fantastic to see the old champion pushed to the wire by a new challenger, but particularly Ho. He has done a lot in the last five years to gradually shift the broad perception, long-held by many owners, trainers, and punters, of ‘local’ Hong Kong jockeys being second class compared to the expatriate jockeys. If he could push Purton to the wire, it would be a big boost for any young Hong Kong jockeys coming through the system. It’s important for the future of the sport in the city, with local turnover and attendances dipping, to have local heroes.   

Andrew Le Jeune: “Jockeys’ Championship Decided On The Final Day”—I’m also going to throw forward to the final day of competition… Sport thrives on great rivalries and there have been some epic clashes over the years: think Whyte/Prebble, Purton/Moreira. The theatre of last year’s trainers title race between eventual champion Francis Lui and challenger Pierre Ng made for spectacular viewing. The jockeys’ championship seems a one jockey race for Purton, but it would add an extra layer of interest if someone can stand toe-to-toe with him until the last meeting. 

Part One

Hong Kong 2024/25 Season Preview: Horses

Part Two

Hong Kong 2024/25 Season Preview: Trainers