Jerry Chau is excited to broaden his horizons when he rides for the first time at Seoul in South Korea on Sunday afternoon (7 September) aboard Hong Kong raiders Chancheng Glory and Self Improvement.
Chau has ridden 173 winners in Hong Kong, including one at Group 2 level aboard Lucky Patch in 2021. He’s well-versed in racing in Australia, riding 77 winners Down Under as part of his overseas training with trainers Leon MacDonald & Andrew Gluyas in Adelaide. After returning to Hong Kong in 2020, the youngster partnered 58 winners through his first full season – a record for an apprentice jockey.
Chau, 25, is proud to represent hometown connections abroad for the second time after partnering Duke Wai into fifth in Dubai’s 2023 G1 Al Quoz Sprint (1200m): “It’s my honour to represent The Hong Kong Jockey Club as well as the owners and trainers. I really appreciate it. I am very excited.”
Seoul’s unique racecourse is a deep sand-based surface with plenty of kickback. Racing is run left-handed, opposite to both Sha Tin and Happy Valley, with a testing home straight which runs for 400m. Chancheng Glory contests the G3 Korea Cup (1800m, sand) from barrier two and Self Improvement faces the G3 Korea Sprint (1200m, sand) drawn in gate seven.
Chau, who rode both horses in trackwork at Seoul this morning (Thursday, 4 September), has leaned on the experience of jockeys Karis Teetan and Vincent Ho in preparation for Sunday.
“It looks like it’s raining this weekend (in Seoul). Hopefully, the horses handle it. I spoke to Karis – he won the Korea Sprint with Super Jockey. He told me to just let the horse roll and not to stop his rhythm,” Chau said.
“I also asked Vincent about the track. He said it’s quite deep and the same thing, keep the horse rolling and don’t stop them. I don’t think Self Improvement likes too much kickback, so I think I will keep him open and not get too much cover, so that way I can avoid too much kickback.”
