In a remarkable meeting of firsts, Keagan De Melo and Andrea Atzeni celebrated significant breakthrough victories at Happy Valley’s season-opening fixture on Wednesday night.
Recruited to bolster Hong Kong’s world-class jockey ranks, reigning South African champion De Melo and European Classic-winning Atzeni showcased their impressive credentials in decisive fashion, with De Melo securing his win on the Caspar Fownes-trained Valhalla and Atzeni triumphing aboard Mega Bonus for Ricky Yiu.
De Melo displayed remarkable poise in the straight, deftly maneuvering Valhalla to victory despite being blocked for a rails run.
He commented on his victory, saying, “Firstly, thank you very much to Caspar and his team for the opportunity. I’m really grateful to everyone for the opportunity and to The Hong Kong Jockey Club for having me.”
He added, “It’s a good start and I enjoy these types of courses, so hopefully it can be onwards and upwards from here.”
Fownes, the trainer of Valhalla, expressed his delight at the win, acknowledging the horse’s previous disappointments.
“This horse has been such a disappointment. He backed up really well,” Fownes said.
“I appreciate the owners being patient, and I hope we can repay them again.”
Referring to De Melo, Fownes praised the South African champion.
“Obviously, the guy can ride, being the champion of South Africa. He’s obviously got talent, and it’s like anything – if you get the opportunities, you can perform.
“I’ll throw a few decent rides his way, and I’m sure others will start to support him. I wish him the best.”
As for Andrea Atzeni, who had previously ridden in Hong Kong during the 2014/15 season, he returned with renewed determination and zest.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been here, and it’s nice, in only my second meeting back here, to bang in a winner,” Atzeni remarked.
He also praised Ricky Yiu for his support, saying, “Ricky Yiu has been very supportive from the minute I arrived, and it was nice to get the first winner for him.”
In addition to De Melo and Atzeni’s victories, Derek Leung and Luke Ferraris shared riding honors with doubles, with Leung prevailing on Kowloon East Star and Harmony N Blessed, while Ferraris secured his victories aboard Hameron and Xponential.
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