Kei Chiong
Hong Kong Jockey Club
Star apprentice Kei Chiong is crediting her time in New Zealand as a key component in her becoming Hong Kong racing's most marketable commodity.
Chiong, 23, has become the toast of Hong Kong racing in the course of the past five weeks, her record-breaking haul of four wins at Sha Tin on April 10 making racing news worldwide and catapulting her to the forefront of thoughts of trainers wanting to capitalise on a 10-pound (4.5kg)-claiming apprentice.
Her remarkable run of wins has continued since and she took her tally for the season to 23 with success in the first race at Happy Valley on Wednesday.
"I thought I would do well but I didn't expect to do this well," Chiong told NZ Racing Desk this week.
"In New Zealand, I had a lot of different experiences and it all helped to get me where I am now. It's a lot different to Hong Kong but riding races is just the same."
Chiong said she had thrived under Hong Kong Jockey Club apprentice mentor Felix Coetzee and was continually refining her riding technique as she strived for improvements.
She has become stronger under her fitness regime which she believed has helped her to ride her horses out in tight finishes.
"My riding has improved a lot. Everything has worked out really well for me here," she said.
"In Hong Kong, every jockey riding here is a top jockey, so for me to have a 10-pound allowance, it's a lot of weight advantage and a big help to an apprentice. Felix Coetzee has helped me a lot. He teaches me the right things to be doing in the race."
Chiong spent time in New Zealand indentured firstly to Matamata trainer Graham Richardson and then New Plymouth trainer Allan Sharrock.
She said both trainers had been important figures in her development as a jockey, especially Sharrock, a past mentor of champion New Zealand apprentices Michael Walker and Matthew Cameron and current master of Hong Kong apprentice Dylan Mo.
"Allan Sharrock gave me a lot of opportunities on horses with good chances and he taught me a lot about what I should do in each race. He would tell me what I did wrong and from that I improved straight away," said Chiong, adding that she kept in touch with friends she had made in New Zealand.
Chiong's four-win haul at Sha Tin on April 10 was the most ever recorded at a meeting in Hong Kong by a female jockey and immediately made her a pin-up girl for racing fans there.
Apprenticed to Francis Lui, Chiong is the first female apprentice to hold a licence in Hong Kong since Carol Yu, who retired from race riding in 2000.
Despite the following she has gained, Chiong said she remained focused on doing the best she could every time she was legged up into the saddle.
"I will just keep trying to win as many races as I can and my aim is to become the local top jockey." - NZ Racing Desk
Chiong, 23, has become the toast of Hong Kong racing in the course of the past five weeks, her record-breaking haul of four wins at Sha Tin on April 10 making racing news worldwide and catapulting her to the forefront of thoughts of trainers wanting to capitalise on a 10-pound (4.5kg)-claiming apprentice.
Her remarkable run of wins has continued since and she took her tally for the season to 23 with success in the first race at Happy Valley on Wednesday.
"I thought I would do well but I didn't expect to do this well," Chiong told NZ Racing Desk this week.
"In New Zealand, I had a lot of different experiences and it all helped to get me where I am now. It's a lot different to Hong Kong but riding races is just the same."
Chiong said she had thrived under Hong Kong Jockey Club apprentice mentor Felix Coetzee and was continually refining her riding technique as she strived for improvements.
She has become stronger under her fitness regime which she believed has helped her to ride her horses out in tight finishes.
"My riding has improved a lot. Everything has worked out really well for me here," she said.
"In Hong Kong, every jockey riding here is a top jockey, so for me to have a 10-pound allowance, it's a lot of weight advantage and a big help to an apprentice. Felix Coetzee has helped me a lot. He teaches me the right things to be doing in the race."
Chiong spent time in New Zealand indentured firstly to Matamata trainer Graham Richardson and then New Plymouth trainer Allan Sharrock.
She said both trainers had been important figures in her development as a jockey, especially Sharrock, a past mentor of champion New Zealand apprentices Michael Walker and Matthew Cameron and current master of Hong Kong apprentice Dylan Mo.
"Allan Sharrock gave me a lot of opportunities on horses with good chances and he taught me a lot about what I should do in each race. He would tell me what I did wrong and from that I improved straight away," said Chiong, adding that she kept in touch with friends she had made in New Zealand.
Chiong's four-win haul at Sha Tin on April 10 was the most ever recorded at a meeting in Hong Kong by a female jockey and immediately made her a pin-up girl for racing fans there.
Apprenticed to Francis Lui, Chiong is the first female apprentice to hold a licence in Hong Kong since Carol Yu, who retired from race riding in 2000.
Despite the following she has gained, Chiong said she remained focused on doing the best she could every time she was legged up into the saddle.
"I will just keep trying to win as many races as I can and my aim is to become the local top jockey." - NZ Racing Desk
