3 minute read

The partnership between the Racing SA Apprentice Academy and Hong Kong Jockey Club continues to shine with a brilliant season by Jerry Chau.

Chau who rode 77 winners in South Australian under the guidance of the Leon Macdonald and Andrew Gluyas before returning to Hong Kong in 2020. On Wednesday night, Chau recorded a treble at Happy Valley and has serious claims for the Tony Cruz Award as the most successful home-grown jockey in season 2020-21.

Chau follows on from Matthew Poon who has created a big impression since returning home and Racing SA Apprentice Academy Master Briony Moore said Chau had the potential to be one of the best.

"It's exciting to see Jerry do so well and he gives you the feeling he hasn't even scratched the surface in the racing world,'' Moore said.

"To put his progress into perspective, Jerry's first race ride as a 4kg claimer was only back in March 20, 2019 at Balaklava.

That's almost unheard of to progress that quick,'' she said.

And she said Chau had all the making of a star rider.

"He is just a natural athlete,'' Moore said.

"With all of the physical testing we did with Jerry his results were so high he was up there with any elite athlete, from day one you could tell Jerry had the x-factor.

"Jerry's eagerness to learn and listen is what really stood out. He is very coachable and that's what you need to do to be at the top of any sport, just put that with one of the best former jockeys in the world in Douglas Whyte as a boss and you have the right recipe to be the best,'' she said.

And Chau's break out season continues to draw praise form his boss, the most successful jockey in Hong Kong racing history, especially after winning aboard Rainbow Light on Wednesday.

"You wouldn't get a much better ride than that – it's probably his ride of the season," Whyte said.

"It was 10 out of 10 – Jerry won the race.

"We discussed it beforehand, it was about riding the horse with confidence and not hitting the front too soon. He's a very young, immature horse from the northern hemisphere so he doesn't know what he's doing 100 per cent yet but Jerry rode him like a senior jockey.

"A lot of people wouldn't understand – that was a very confident ride and a very heady ride. I know it's only a Class 4, but he put that horse in a position, he followed the favourite and he waited, and he was vulnerable. But when you're riding with confidence, you can do things like that, and it is just lovely to see a young man flourishing."

Chau rode a double on his return home to Hong Kong last May but has enjoyed a brilliant first full season back home riding 56 winners and boasting a strike-rate of 12 per cent,  which is only bettered by big guns Joao Moreira and Zac Purton.

Chau said being guided by Whyte was paramount for his success.

"I've learnt to think quicker in races and that everything changes so fast, especially in Hong Kong and if you wait for one second, the position is gone,'' Chau said.

"He trusts me and every time after each race he teaches me and lets me know which part of the race I should have done better but he supports me and gives me the confidence - I think that's why I keep doing the right things," he said.

"Me and my boss have had very good seasons - he just gives me confidence.

"He's (Douglas Whyte) like a perfect man, he wants everything to be perfect and there's a little bit of pressure that comes with that but a high standard helps me lift, if I just think a little differently it improves me a lot," he said.