Moreira hopes his luck holds
HONG Kongs Champion Jockey Joao Moreira (pictured) is itching to defend his title in the World All-Star Jockeys series at Sapporo Racecourse this weekend and is hoping that fortune will favour him in his pursuit of back-to-back titles.
“Luck plays a big part in horseracing - generally, not only in this type of event - so I don’t necessarily look at this as being a tough competition, it’s more a case that you just need to be the luckiest - do everything right and then get lucky,” said the Brazilian ace, who enjoyed a debut triumph in the 2015 edition of Japan’s premier jockeys' challenge.
“There was a time when I never thought I would be winning these types of events and now I look back and I’ve already done it, more than once.
Great feeling
I’m very proud of that, I know what it feels like to win this competition, and I know what it’s like to win the Hong Kong IJC and it’s a great feeling, it’s fantastic to win these jockey challenge contests. I'm really looking forward to the weekend.”
The World All-Star Jockeys series comprises four races on turf, two staged on Saturday, 27 August and two on Sunday 28 August. “
As well as shooting for the individual crown, Moreira will be part of a team consisting of five visiting riders alongside one from Japan's regional National Racing Association (NAR) and JRA star Yasunari Iwata, who will take on a JRA select seven.
“Nobody knows how it’s going to be - it all depends on the horses you get and what draw they have,” he said.
“That makes the nature of these contests special but it doesn’t make them any more difficult, in the sense that it’s you against other riders who are in the same spot as you are in knowing nothing about those horses.
The local riders over there might have a better knowledge of how the horses like to run, but the international riders going in - we're all in the same boat.”
Moreira will line up alongside fellow international stars Cristian Demuro, Jamie Spencer, Craig Williams and EmmaJayne Wilson, while the JRA team will feature the likes of Yutaka Take, Christophe Lemaire and MircoDemuro.
Moreira heads to Hokkaido’s capital with a second record-breaking domestic campaign still fresh in the memory.
Hong Kong’s number one rider made it two premierships on the bounce with a staggering 168 wins to his credit in 2015/16, smashing his own runaway record of 145 wins set the previous season.
After a successful short summer stint in Japan, which yielded nine wins, he is eager to get back into domestic action at Sha Tin’s season opener on Saturday, September 3.
“I’ve been asked by so many people what my target is for this season but I don’t have a target,” he said.
“I just hope I can keep the same pace and we’ll only know how well I’ve done when the end of the season comes around, but I’m very excited to get started.
It looks like I have some really nice horses to look forward to, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed that everything will work out well.”
Moreira is the third Hong Kong-based rider to have succeeded in the World AllStar Jockeys Series, formerly known as the World Super Jockeys Series.
Douglas Whyte claimed the title in 2004 (tied with Andreas Suborics) and Zac Purton prevailed in 2012.