With Cape jockey Aldo Domeyer opting to sit the COVID-19 lockdown out at his Cape Town home with his family, French rider Antoine Hamelin has answered the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s SOS and can make a winning return to Sha Tin on Sunday.
The Frenchman beat the border closure and has come out of 14 days in compulsory quarantine in his hotel room to bolster the depleted riding ranks in Hong Kong.
Antoine Hamelin (Pic – Facebook)
The 28-year-old will stay until the end of the season.
He had ridden 71 winners in 2019 and with no racing in France, was a willing participant.
The jockey got the call and wasted no time making the move, ensuring he arrived before the Hong Kong government locked down the city to all non-residents for two weeks.
According to reports, Hamelin has ridden in Hong Kong once before, finishing 10th on Saonois in the 2012 Gr1 Hong Kong Cup behind California Memory. That horse was also responsible for his biggest race win, which came in the 2012 Gr1 Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly.
Hamelin rides Perfect Match in the Austin Handicap, the last and most valuable contest on Sunday’s fixture at Sha Tin.
The four-year-old has had six tries over 1400m at Sha Tin, producing five wins and a neck defeat. His career best effort came in January when he made all to win a Class 1 contest.
Given a 62-day break after that, he never got into the argument when stepped back to six furlongs a fortnight ago, his wide draw not helping. But that may set him up for a better effort at his favoured distance, just as a defeat over six appeared to do in November.
Hollywoodbets Neil Morrice brings us all of his best bets and tips from the meeting at Sha Tin in Hong Kong, including video analysis.
