The son of former Hong Kong trainer David Ferraris, Luke Ferraris grew up in the apartments at Sha Tin Racecourse and dreamt of becoming a world class jockey just like many of his famous neighbours.
Ferraris would see the likes of Douglas Whyte, Brett Prebble, Zac Purton or Joao Moreira in and around the apartment buildings every day, but children were not allowed to attend the races. The closest Ferraris could get to the raceday action was perched atop the green wire mesh fence just metres from the outside rail of the course proper.
Late last Wednesday night, having just ridden his 100th winner in Hong Kong at just 22 years of age, Ferraris stopped next to where he sat as a child and reflected on his achievement.
So, knowing what he does now about the competitive cauldron that is Hong Kong racing, what would Ferraris tell that kid on the fence?
“From a kid’s perspective watching it, it looked a lot more simple than it is,” Ferraris said. “When you become part of it and you go through the ups and downs of getting taken off horses and riding different horses, Hong Kong racing can be a real rollercoaster.”
Ferraris is one of many young jockeys to have grown up at the apartment buildings adjacent to the racecourse: his close friends Tom Prebble (son of Brett) and Campbell Rawiller (Nash Rawiller) ride in Australia, along with Group 1 winner Chad Schofield (Glyn Schofield) and star apprentice siblings Zac and Jaden Lloyd (Jeff Lloyd).
In between being that kid on the fence and now, Ferraris also returned to his native South Africa to twice become champion apprentice, a six-time Group 1 winner and one of just four jockeys in history to complete the South African Triple Crown, all while still a teenager.
So when a 19-year-old Ferraris returned to his second home of Sha Tin little more than three years ago it might have seemed that immediate success was predestined, but he hit stretches where support dwindled through seasons of 20, 35 and then 28 wins.
“It was probably a good thing because I needed to toughen up mentally,” Ferraris said of his slumps. “In other places, if you don’t ride a winner, you have the next day and another track to go to, in Hong Kong the mental side of it plays a bigger role than the physical side because when you have a bad day you have to live with yourself until the next raceday. It is only a few days away but there is nothing you can do between, you can’t go and ride a few winners somewhere else.
“If it wasn’t for those dry spells here it wouldn’t have thrust me into getting on to the phone more, contacting different trainers and chasing. It probably gave me the push I needed to get that fire going again.”
The competitive fire is certainly burning bright in Ferraris this term. With little more than one third of the season gone, Ferraris is on track for a career best. He has 17 winners and is outright fourth in the jockeys’ championship. Central to his success is second-year trainer Mark Newnham, who he has teamed with for 21 of those first 100 Hong Kong victories – including the milestone win on Mojave Desert – and nine this season.
Newnham was already a keen observer of Hong Kong racing before he started in September 2023 and when watching barrier trials he noted that Ferraris had an above average ability to get horses out of the starting stalls quickly. “Whether those horses race on the speed or not, that is a huge advantage,” Newnham added.
When the opportunity came to team up with Ferraris, Newnham found somebody he could work closely with off the track as well.
“Back in Australia my stable has always operated better when I had a small group of jockeys to work closely with,” Newnham said. “Luke is still young and he is still in a position to improve a lot in his riding, which I think he is continuing to do. From my perspective, looking long term here, that is attractive to me.
“Zac (Purton) and Hugh (Bowman) ride for me but it is difficult to get those top two consistently. Luke can provide that consistency I need, from gallops to trials to races, you get that consistently through time and it shows in results.”
Ferraris can obviously see the long term benefits of his partnership with one of the rising stars of the training ranks as well.
“There is no better feeling than to repay somebody by riding winners for them,” he said. “I think Mark will get bigger and better in Hong Kong so that is a good relationship to build on.”
Maybe it is because of his unique Hong Kong childhood that Ferraris seems to speak with the sage wisdom of a veteran of the scene and perhaps it is because of his long list of achievements that it is easy to forget that he is still the youngest jockey on the Hong Kong roster.
Overall there is a sense that despite feeling like he has always belonged out there on the track at Sha Tin, the best is yet to come for Ferraris.
“I am pretty proud of it,” Ferrais said of riding 100 winners. “Especially growing up here, watching it and then becoming a part of it. I always wanted to do well here and Hong Kong is a difficult place that looks a lot easier than it is. I came here when I was 19, which is fairly young and to stick it out for this long is one thing, but to do well is an achievement in itself. I am looking forward to hopefully riding another 100.”
Another 100 might seem a moderate goal but the last three years have him grounded in reality.
“In Hong Kong, nobody is under any illusions about how tough it is and if you let that get too much on top of you, it can dampen the fire that the kid up on the fence once had,” he said. “But if you ride winners, it keeps it burning. I just have to keep it lit.” ∎
