Magic Joao Moreira
After an eventful off season, Brazilian ace Joao Moreira says he still found time to reflect on how he can improve on his roller-coaster first season as club jockey in Hong Kong where his frequent suspensions were almost as notable as his remarkable winning strike rate.
On the first night of the off season Moreira underwent an emergency appendectomy in Qatar but a fruitful few meetings in Singapore to close out the break showed he will resume at 100 per cent fitness. In between, Moreira had time to think as he recuperated at home near Sao Paulo and enjoyed some home cooking.
“I try very hard not to think about racing when I have a break, but I always do. I thought about how things turned out last season, what I can do better this time around and I had a lot on my mind,” Moreira said on Wednesday after partnering returning star Ambitious Dragon in a dirt trial at Sha Tin, the horse’s first public appearance in more than a year.
“Having my appendix removed was a drama – and I’m glad that experience is behind me now,” he said, adding that the two weeks of rest required after the operation gave him ample time to pick apart a rookie season where he rode close to 100 winners in a limited time frame and pushed new champion Zac Purton, but also collected 18 meetings worth of careless riding suspensions.
“Understanding this place is hard – but I am feeling like I have adapted better now and understand the game a little better,” he said. “If I can avoid the suspensions, I can do very well again.
“Sometimes I have a choice of three or four runners in a race – that gives me a great chance to find the winner. I feel like I know the system better now too, knowing when to get on horses dropping or going up in grade. I can’t wait to get started – I just love racing. I rode in Singapore because I was heavy and I wanted to make sure that when I started on day one my body weight was low.”
Moreira took Ambitious Dragon back to near the tail of the field in his 12-horse trial and allowed him to work home under his own steam, finishing worse than midfield, the jockey and trainer Tony Millard pleased with the effort. “I was very happy with him, he had a lot in hand there,” Millard said, adding that the National Day meeting on October 1 was the most likely date for his return.
“He was nice and balanced and we can build off that. International Day and the Hong Kong Mile is our primary objective.”
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