Hong Kong's Leung to make Randwick debut

Friday 8 August 2014, 12:21pm

There will be a new face in the Sydney jockeys' room on Saturday when Hong Kong's Derek Leung takes two rides at Randwick.

Leung came to Australia for a working holiday with Gai Waterhouse when the Hong Kong season ended in July.

He has been riding trackwork four to five days a week, splitting his time between Waterhouse at Randwick and Godolphin's John O'Shea.

The pre-dawn starts have taken some getting used to, as has the winter weather.

"It's a bit cold at the moment," Leung said.

"But it's not too bad, I've got a winner."

Leung was referring to his Hawkesbury victory aboard the O'Shea-trained Cabalistic last month and his two Randwick mounts include Imperil for Godolphin in the Hahn Super Dry 3.5 Handicap (1600m).

The 26-year-old's association with Sheikh Mohammed's Australian operation came about through former champion jockey Darren Beadman.

Beadman, who rode in Hong Kong and now works for Godolphin, bumped into Leung at a Sydney race meeting last month and offered him the chance to ride some trackwork.

He is excited to be competing at a Saturday city meeting.

"(It's the) first time I'm going to the city in Sydney so I'm looking forward to it," he said.

Leung finished 13th on the Hong Kong jockeys' table with 18 winners including a late-season double for renowned trainer John Moore.

Moore is a Leung fan and recently praised the rider's ability to get the best out of horses.

He will need those skills to turn around the recent form of Imperil who has missed a place at his past four runs.

Leung's Australian trip isn't the first time he has headed overseas to deepen his riding experience.

He also rode in France during last year's Hong Kong off season.

He plans to return to the Asian racing centre at the end of August.

– AAP

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