Preparing to partner Lucky Sweynesse in the HK$4.2 million G3 Sha Tin Vase Handicap (1200m) at Sha Tin on Saturday (31 May), Derek Leung struck top form with a treble at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (28 May).
Excited to be taking his first ride on four-time Group 1 winner Lucky Sweynesse, Leung warmed up for the task with a three-timer on Wood On Fire, Prestige Good and Gracious Express to boost his 2024/25 tally to 26 wins, maintaining contact with Matthew Poon (34) and Matthew Chadwick (30), the front-runners for the Tony Cruz Award as leading homegrown jockey.
“It’s great to get a treble, everything went smoothly tonight,” Leung said after winning the Class 3 Seine Handicap (1200m) with Gracious Express for Ricky Yiu after the pair had earlier combined with Prestige Gold to land the Class 4 Sauternes’s Cup Handicap (1650m).
“He’s (Prestige Gold) a nice horse with a nice action – he’s also a big thinker so we gave him a good warm up behind the gates to make sure he jumped nice and to wake him up. Today, he showed his ability.”
Leung believes Lucky Sweynesse is primed for an improved showing in the Sha Tin Vase at the weekend when he faces fellow Group 1 winners Victor The Winner and Invincible Sage as well as Helios Express, who has been placed in all seven runs this season behind Ka Ying Rising.
“Slowly, he has been getting better and better. He’s not young anymore. After one year off, he’s had one run and after that run he’s shown improvement,” Leung said. “When I galloped him, he’s very smart – he knows what to do.
“After the winning post, he just switched off by himself. He’s very consistent and I hope he gets a good draw to help him.”
Leung also scored on veteran gelding Wood On Fire, who slotted his eighth win from 84 starts with success in the first section of the Class 5 Dordogne Handicap (1200m) for Michael Chang. By Per Incanto, the nine-year-old has won at least one race per season for the past five campaigns, having arrived in 2019 from New Zealand.