Luke Ferraris rode a magnificently timed race on Bucephalis (Picture: HKJC)
Luke Ferraris has had a winner in his last two full meetings in Hong Kong (today’s Saturday meeting is still in progress) and that sew him in eleventh place on the log with eight wins for the season.
Wins have not been hard to come by for the ex-pat South Africans on the island with Lyle Hewitson only on one win for the season, which has prompted him to end his stint on the island on December 24, while trainer Brett Crawford and Doug Whyte had only managed two wins from 84 runs and five wins from 103 runs respectively before Saturday’s meeting started.
South African Jockey Academy graduate Karis Teetan had had nine wins, while the Hong Kong local Nichola Yuen who spent a few months under the care of SAJA last season, was lying in second place on the log with 18 wins.
Ferraris’ win on Wednesday at Happy Valley was on the Cody Mo-trained New Zealand-bred Savabeel gelding Bucephalis.
The six-year-old converted 15/1 odds in a class 4 event over 1650m.
Ferraris has for a long time been masterful from the front and he set a pace that was just perfect today as his mount was still able to steal a march at the top of the straight before just clinging on by a neck from the late flying favourite, Fortune Star.
Ferraris’ nine wins had come from exactly 100 rides.
