Luke Ferraris gets up on Setanta (Picture: HKJC)
Luke Ferraris snapped a 72-ride run of outs with the Mark Newnham-trained Setanta’s last-to-first triumph in the first section of the Class 4 Ciron Handicap (1650m) to take his season haul to 22 wins at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.
The Australian-bred six-year-old Fastnet Rock gelding paid 6.20 on the Tote and overcame draw eight to win by a neck in the class 4 event over 1650m.
“Mark had him in superb condition and he needed to be from where he came from,” Ferraris said. “We had a bit of a sticky draw (barrier eight) and I didn’t anticipate other horses from the outside digging up as hard as they did, so they put us in an awkward spot, but they ran a tempo to suit and he picked up accordingly.”
Ferraris, 22, amassed a career-high 35 wins in 2022/23 but has found this season challenging.
“The support dropped off terribly midway through the season,” the South African said. “A few trainers I thought I would get a lot more rides for, I just haven’t had a ride for. Big thanks to Mark, he’s supported me for the whole season, it’s good to reward him.”
