Ethan Brown has accepted a position on the Hong Kong jockey roster to begin from April 20 through until the end of the current season.
The 26-year-old, who currently sits third on Melbourne Jockeys’ premiership with 27 winners, will be eligible for rides in Hong Kong from April 26.
Brown took a call from former Melbourne chief steward Terry Bailey a couple of weeks ago to find out whether he would be interested in heading to Hong Kong.
“It’s a good opportunity and I’m ready for a new challenge,” Brown said.
“Terry Bailey rang me a couple of weeks ago and asked if I would be interested and, I said ‘definitely’, and it all got ticked off in the last few days.
“It’s always been in the back of my mind to go there, and when they offered, I didn’t have to think twice about it.”
But first Brown has autumn carnivals in Melbourne and Sydney to concentrate on.
He kicks off on Saturday riding Giga Kick in the Group 1 Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington replacing the injured Mark Zahra.
It will be Brown’s first ride aboard Giga Kick in a race on Saturday having partnered the sprinter in a trial at Caulfield Heath on January 29.
Brown put off going to Hong Kong earlier to enable him to continue his association with Jimmysstar.
The Ciaron Maher-trained galloper is set to resume in the Group 1 William Reid Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield next month before heading to Sydney for the Group 1 T J Smith Stakes (1200m) and the All-Aged Stakes (1400m), both at Randwick, in April.
“The Hong Kong trip is all based around Jimmy,” Brown said.
“He’ll run in the All-Aged on the 18th, I believe, and then I’ll fly out on the 20th and spend three-and-a-bit months there.”
