Hong Kong apprentice Vincent Ho impressed dual Melbourne premiership-winning trainer Peter Moody with his winning ride aboard There’s Only One in the second leg of the 2011 Asian Young Guns Challenge at Flemington.
Ho, 21, is apprenticed to leading trainer Caspar Fownes and has had a good grounding having ridden 49 winners on the tough Hong Kong stage and being champion apprentice there for the 2010/11 season.
He also won the most promising apprentice award in New Zealand during a stint in 2009/10.
“He kept his head the young bloke, (James) McDonald (rider of runner-up Maraseem) shouldered him back on the turn but he kept his head and just waited and persevered for the run,” Moody said.
“She keeps on improving this mare and she travelled better today which was pleasing on better ground.
“There might be a better race in her. She’s learning to be a winner.”
Ho carried out the instruction to settle There’s Only One ($2.60 fav) behind midfield in the small field of seven.
The Testa Rossa four-year-old mare completed a hat-trick of metropolitan wins, scoring by 1-1/4 lengths from topweight Maraseem ($3.70), ridden by champion New Zealand apprentice McDonald, who gave the winner a five kilogram weight advantage.
Court Ya ($19), ridden by Japanese apprentice Ryo Takakura, was 1-1/2 lengths away third.
“He (Moody) said she doesn’t have early speed,” Ho said.
“I tried to come out but James (McDonald’s) horse travelled well and kept me in but that’s normal in racing and there was a gap on the inside finally so I just took it.”
The John Sadler-trained Bondarenko ($4.20), ridden by Macau’s Cash Wong, threw her chances away when she ran off the track on the home turn, something she has done before, and finished fourth.
AAP TURF
