Recently arrived jockeys Andrea Atzeni and Keagan De Melo were officially unveiled by The Hong Kong Jockey Club at Sha Tin this morning (Tuesday, 5 September) ahead of the impending 2023/24 racing season which commences this Sunday (10 September).
Mr Andrew Harding, The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Executive Director, Racing, said: “As foreshadowed at the end of last season we intended that over the course of the offseason we would be adding to the jockey’s roster and I’m extremely pleased to formerly announce that the two jockeys that have now been given part-season licences by the Licensing Committee.
“Since the last time Andrea was licenced by the Club, his career has gone on to even greater heights. He has Group 1 wins in seven countries, including two British Classics and he arrives here after an extraordinarily successful summer in the United Kingdom. I’m very confident that he will be warmly embraced by the trainers, owners and public.”
Atzeni, 32, returns to Hong Kong as a polished globally accredited Group 1-winning rider. Hailing from Italy – Atzeni has been based in Great Britain for much of his career, notably riding for trainers Roger Varian and the retired Luca Cumani.
“I spent a little bit of time here (in Hong Kong) between 2014 and 2015, it’s a long time ago and I was a lot younger. I’d say mentally, I wasn’t quite ready for it. So coming back here nine years later, I feel like I’ve achieved a lot more around experience and I’ve been lucky enough to ride all over the world.
“When the offer came along, I thought about it quite carefully, I came to a conclusion that it was the right time in my career to come back to Hong Kong and try my luck here,” Atzeni said.