Poon prepares for new challenge in Hong Kong

21/03/2017

Matthew Poon, the newest Apprentice Jockey to join Hong Kong’s riding roster, was introduced to local media today (Tuesday, 21 March) at a press conference. He will begin his Hong Kong career with nine rides at Sha Tin on Sunday, 26 March.

Poon, 23, joined the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Apprentice Jockeys’ School as a 17-year-old and has spent the past year and a half improving his skills in Australia.

“When I was young, I lived near the Jockey Club’s riding centre at Beas River,” Poon, who was raised in Hong Kong’s New Territories, said. “I always saw the horses walk around from afar. I got a chance when I was a teenager to go and spend some time with the horses at Beas River and that made me interested in these animals.

“When I was 15 or 16, I was thinking about my career and I knew that I didn’t want to sit in an office all day,” he continued. “I knew that I wanted to do something different. So I started focusing on physical education at school because I knew I wanted to do something sport-related, and it was around that time that I learnt that you could be a jockey. When I finished school, I applied for the Apprentice Jockeys’ School and was lucky enough to be accepted.”

Those who make the grade at the school as potential Apprentice Jockeys must undertake an overseas placement to acquire the necessary level of ability required to compete on the Hong Kong circuit. Poon spent his time in South Australia with trainer Richard Jolly, a G1 winner both as a jockey and a handler, and made a positive impact winning 117 races from 862 rides at a strike rate of 13.57 percent.

“Matthew came to me with limited experience, he had only ridden in barrier trials over here in Hong Kong,” Jolly said at this morning’s press conference. “He started with me in June 2015 and he rode in about 20 trials and a fair few jump-outs before he was ready to race-ride, which came in October that year. His first ride was at a country track and his first ride was a winner. In fact his first provincial ride was a winner, his first city ride was a winner, so all of a sudden we get to this point and he’s ridden 117 winners in a very short space of time.”

Among Poon’s notable achievements is a Champion Apprentice Jockey title in South Australia in his first season, with 51 wins from October 2015 to July 2016. He was sitting second in the state’s senior riders’ premiership for the current season before his return to Hong Kong, having amassed 66 wins since August.

“He’s a dedicated young lad that’s very keen to succeed,” Jolly said. “He’s a good rider, he’s done so well due to his dedication, and I’m sure that will carry on here in Hong Kong.”

Poon will be indentured to trainer David Hall as his apprenticeship continues in Hong Kong, and the Australian expat believes that the grounding Poon received in Adelaide will prove beneficial to him as he continues to develop as a rider in Hong Kong.

“Obviously, I’m looking forward to seeing Matthew ride,” Hall said. “I’ve watched a lot of his riding in South Australia and it’s amazing how the racing world turns, because Richard was an apprentice jockey who rode for me when I trained in Adelaide.

“He was in good hands with Richard, who has done a marvellous job with him, and he had plenty of help from John Murray as well, another well-respected rider down there. And now he comes to Hong Kong and has a riding legend like Felix Coetzee to help him continue to progress, too. I will be there to guide him along in the right direction when he needs it, but he has a remarkable support system for such a young rider.

“He’s done a lot of hard work to this point but there’s a lot more hard work to be done now he’s in Hong Kong. He’s got a big job ahead, but I’ll certainly be doing everything I can to help him.”
 
Mr. Andrew Harding, the Club’s Executive Director, Racing Authority, said of Poon: “The Club congratulates Matthew as he enters this next stage of his career. His record of achievement in Australia speaks for itself and he is well and truly ready to take on the challenge that now lies in front of him. Indeed, it is a challenge when you consider the world-class competition that he will now face in Hong Kong – it must be a prospect as daunting as a young tennis player walking onto Wimbledon, or a rugby player at Twickenham or a football player at Wembley. However, Matthew is well-equipped to rise to this challenge and we wish him well as he continues his progression through the apprentice system in Hong Kong.

“The Apprentice Jockeys’ School is a good example of the Club’s racing values,” he continued. “The Apprentice Jockeys’ School’s mission is to find, to nurture, to train and to develop young talent, and that lies at the core of Hong Kong racing. The School on a daily basis is constantly striving to improve; the drive for success is constant. And that too is what drives the Hong Kong Jockey Club as a world-class racing organisation.”