Andrea Atzeni has rocketed into third place in the 2024/25 Hong Kong jockeys’ championship and the Italian ace is aiming to continue a prosperous stretch of form when he takes seven rides at Happy Valley on Wednesday.
Crystal Powerful wins at Happy Valley under Andrea Atzeni (Pic – HKJC)
The 34-year-old rode 10 winners through March from 51 pairings to lift his score to 36 behind only Zac Purton (87 wins) and Hugh Bowman (51). Brenton Avdulla (34) and Luke Ferraris (33) are the only other riders to surpass the 30-win mark this season.
Atzeni based himself permanently in Hong Kong ahead of the 2023/24 campaign. He rode 48 winners through his first full term, which served as his second taste of the city’s ultra-competitive circuit after a short stint in 2014/15 where he triumphed three times.
Crystal Powerful seeks consecutive wins with Atzeni in the Class 4 Japan Racing Association Trophy Handicap from barrier two for trainer Cody Mo. The Exceed And Excel gelding was successful in Class 5 on 12 March at the Valley.
“He’s up in class, so I think he needs everything to go right for him. I was hoping for a good draw and we got a good draw, so hopefully he gets some luck in running and with that weight (121lb) he should be competitive again,” Atzeni said.
A two-time winner over 1200m, Crystal Powerful was able to capitalise under Atzeni for the first time over 1000m by a head last month at the city circuit.
“He’s been unlucky with draws. He’s a horse who, if he gets a good draw, he’s very competitive. Cody decided to drop him back to 1000 metres, which I thought was a good idea because he’s shown a lot more speed this year than he did last year.
“He’s been coming out of the gates a lot quicker and over 1200 metres we just kept taking him back and trying to get him in behind. Dropping back to 1000 with a good draw – he jumped quickly and he won quite nicely,” Atzeni said.
The in-form Atzeni also rides U S S Constitution, Senor Toba, Inno Century, Santorini, Mighty Commander and Kaholo Angel on Wednesday before jetting to Australia to reunite with Al Mubhir in the Gr1 Doncaster Mile Handicap at Royal Randwick on Saturday, 05 April for trainer William Haggas.
“William approached me a while ago and said Al Mubhir was going to run in the Doncaster Mile. He asked me if I was happy to go and ride him and obviously, I said ‘yes’.
“I actually rode him in the Lincoln Handicap a few years ago and he was favourite for the race. The Doncaster Mile looks like an open race and with a light weight (53kg/116lb) he should be competitive,” Atzeni said.
Atzeni is one of four Hong Kong-based jockeys engaged to ride in Sydney. Zac Purton, Hugh Bowman and Karis Teetan head Down Under this weekend.
Bowman also enjoyed a productive March with nine winners. The Australian is aboard M Unicorn in the Class 3 Tokyo Handicap (1650m) for trainer Caspar Fownes.
“He won with authority, last start. It was a funny race and they didn’t go particularly hard early. Obviously, I made the mid-race move, which I was able to do without getting to top gear. He sustained a strong gallop through the line which was encouraging.
“His form has been consistently good but he’s just difficult at the start of races, he jumps ok but he just won’t find a position. Even when he draws well you don’t get that advantage with him, if I can get a clean break with him and hold a more forward position with him it would be an advantage but he’s a bit difficult,” Bowman said.
Karis Teetan will also be riding in Australia this weekend (Pic – HKJC)
Hong Kong International Sale graduate M Unicorn is a six-time winner in Hong Kong from 26 starts with HK$7.19 million in earnings.
The consistent Motoman returns in the first section of the Class 4 Nakayama Handicap (1200m) with jockey James Orman for trainer Pierre Ng.
The Super One gelding has placed third in his last three runs and managed to win for the first time in January.
“All of his runs have been great. He’s always around the mark. We’ve drawn (10) a little bit tricky, so that’s my only worry on the ‘C+3 course’ but I think if we can get the right run, he’s definitely in with a great chance,” Orman said. “He just got that short sprint, so we just have to time our run right.”
Wednesday’s nine-race fixture at Happy Valley commences at 12h40 with the Class 4 Chukyo Handicap (1650m).
