Goal No 1 ticked off by Keagan de Melo

Hong Kong racing waits for no-one – it’s frighteningly fickle, ruled by demand for instant success. The money is massive, patience isn’t. Tracks are tight, so is the coterie of winners.

The thing South African jockey Keagan de Melo wanted most as he started his stint in Hong Kong last weekend was an early winner – to show he could cut it on the racing-mad island.

He cracked it, winning on just his fourth ride, at the second meeting of the new Hong Kong season. Just as important, he made banner headlines in the racing papers and now every aficionado (and there are a few) knows who he is and what he’s about.

‘Onwards and upwards’

“Everyone says how tough it is here. To get a breakthrough like this, very early, I’m very lucky to be in this position,” said the 2022/23 South African champion jockey post-race.

“It’s a good start, and I enjoy these types of courses. Hopefully, it can be onwards and upwards from here. Thank you very much to [trainer] Caspar Fownes and his team for the opportunity.”

The courses he was referring to were Happy Valley – where he opened the account on Wednesday – and Sha Tin – where he recorded two fifths and a fourth on Sunday.

One of those Sha Tin fifth places was aboard Caspar Fownes-trained Valhalla and clearly jockey and horse hit it off. They were back in action together three days later, to land the opener at Happy Valley on Wednesday – the six-year-old breaking his maiden at the 17th try, at double-figure odds.

De Melo continued: “I had a nice rails run, but it closed up and I had to switch out. There were nervous times up the straight, but I managed to get out in time, which is the main thing.”

‘Wish him the best’

Fownes was impressed by the dexterity, saying: “We know how important an early winner is for a jockey in this place. Obviously, the guy can ride, being champion of South Africa. He’s obviously got talent, and it’s like anything – if you get the opportunities, you can perform. I’ll throw a few decent rides his way, and I’m sure others will start to support him. I wish him the best.”

Music to De Melo’s ears, particularly as another story on the day was Fownes – four-time champion trainer in Hong Kong – declaring his ambition to bid for the title he last held in 2020.

“I’ve set myself a pretty big target this year, so I’d like to hope I can achieve my numbers. That will give me a chance to fight for a fifth title,” Fownes said.

Also at Happy Valley on Wednesday, former SA champion apprentice Luke Ferraris landed a double.

Notably, prolific reigning champion jockey Zac Purton drew a blank – though he did have three winners on the opening day of the season.