Three cheers for Leung

HONG KONG • His three-finger sign said it all.

Jockey Derek Leung was in his element at Sha Tin on Saturday, taking riding honours with a treble, including the 81-1 rank outsider Classic Moon ($405 in Singapore) in the opening event.

His two other winners also paid juicy dividends - Flying Dragon was an 8.9-1 shot ($44) and the 19-1 Gunnison ($97).

It was his first three-timer in a while. His last was in February.

"I knew we were going to have good results because I had good support today," said Leung.

"Just to draw well meant I had some horses with good chances to do well and they have run well. It's good to ride three winners."

Trainer Chris So was pleasantly surprised by Classic Moon's victory in the Class 4 Lukfook Jewellery Hexicon Handicap over 1,200m under a good ride by Leung, with the first-starter far exceeding his expectations.

His charge had only two behind him from the "off". The horse was still unsighted as they swung for home.

But Leung gradually brought his mount up on the outside and had only two more - the leaders Fireball and Smart Wongchoy - to beat with 200m to go.

Responding well, Classic Moon soon kicked to the front for a two-length victory in 1min 10.01sec.

"The horse is still green and I didn't think he was ready to win today but he was good," said So.

"We knew he had potential but I didn't think he would win his start, and from draw 11.

"I told the owner I thought he should run well, hopefully finish midfield. That would have been acceptable and we plan for the next start. But, luckily, we won."

Leung sealed a double aboard the Dennis Yip-trained Flying Dragon in the Class 4 Lukfook Jewellery Heirloom Fortune Collection Handicap over 1,200m on dirt.

After sitting in midfield, he was also in contention with 200m left. In the end, Flying Dragon beat Trader by three quarters of a length in 1min 8.75sec.

Leung, 33, clinched his three-timer when the seven-year-old Gunnison edged out Magic Supreme by a short head to win the Lukfook Jewellery Dear Q Handicap over 1,200m on dirt.

This time, he sat handier in fourth spot before getting up to beat Magic Supreme in the nick of time to win in 1min 8.72sec.

The Hong Kong International Sale Graduate (ISG) Romantic Warrior continued a sharp rise for trainer Danny Shum.

He earned an ISG Bonus of HK$600,000 (S$105,000) for his owner, Peter Lau, by winning the Class 3 Lukfook Jewellery F-style PT in Style Collection Handicap over 1,200m under Joao Moreira.

Unbeaten in three starts, the three-year-old son of Acclamation raced in midfield before accelerating impressively in the straight to give Shum his 15th win of the campaign.

Shum indicated the youngster might be given a shot at the Hong Kong Classic Mile next month.

Moreira cut injured Zac Purton's lead in the jockeys' championship to five wins (44-49), when he sealed a double aboard Soulmate in the Class 3 Lukfook Jewellery F-style Hey Cool Collection Handicap over 1,600m.

Just three days earlier, the Brazilian combined with trainer John Size to seize a treble.

Trainer Paul O'Sullivan hopes the second-event winner, August Moon, can continue to develop after the Highly Recommended gelding claimed the Class 5 Lukfook Jewellery Love Is Beauty Collection Handicap over 1,200m under top rookie Jerry Chau.

"He's been a slow-maturing horse who's just taken time. He got the best run in the race by 100 yards and, hopefully, he can go on with it now," said O'Sullivan.

Trainer Benno Yung harbours similar hopes for Race 3 winner Incredible, who continued his consistent season with a second victory in three starts, this time in the Class 5 Lukfook Jewellery Wedding Collection Handicap over 1,600m under jockey Keith Yeung.

"He's healthy and racing well. Hopefully, he can win in Class 5 again," said Yung, of his 11th winner of the season.

Trainer Tony Millard's decision to drop Ezra back from 2,000m yielded immediate dividends, when the grey snared the Class 4 Lukfook Jewellery Love Forever Collection Handicap over 1,600m under former Singapore-based Brazilian jockey Ruan Maia.

"We've been running him over 2,000m and we decided to give him a change.

"But, when the draw came out, I thought it was a disaster. But the race worked exactly as I had planned, so we were quite lucky," said Millard.

"He's a nice horse, he's earned his way as a relatively inexpensive South African horse. He's been competitive and stayed sound. He's done a good job."

Maia, who posted his sixth winner for the campaign, said: "I'm very happy. Thanks so much to Tony.

"The trainers are still giving me support and I'm still working hard."

HKJC