Jefferson Tsang riding a wave of winners into Broome Cup day

Apprentice jockey Jefferson Tsang might need a bit of luck to complete a Broome Sprint / Broome Cup double on Saturday when he rides the $41 outsider Lutz, but the fact that he is having a terrific two weeks in the saddle is not in question.

The young rider also has bragging rights on another front having ridden the mighty Ka Ying Rising in jump-outs in Hong Kong for his then master David Hayes before being selected for an overseas training posting by the Hong Kong Jockey Club … a selection process which is focused on apprentices who have made outstanding progress on several fronts during their foundation training at the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Apprentice Training School.

In the last two weeks Tsang has ridden five winners from twenty-four starts, but it is not merely the 20.83 per cent winning strike-rate that catches the eye … which is impressive enough in itself … but rather it is the fact that Tsang is really mixing up his winners in terms of the circumstances in which he is saluting that makes his success a real point of focus.

On July 30 at Bunbury, Tsang rode Extronize to victory for trainer Brendon Fitz-Gerald … at a starting price of $101, showing scant regard for the result the betting had predicted. Those looking for the best betting sites Australia would have been stunned by one of the biggest upsets of the season.

On July 31 at Carnarvon, Tsang rode the Cliff Howe-trained Kimberley Currency ($7) to the narrowest of victories, showing his prowess in a tight finish.

On August 1 at Broome, Tsang rode a double on a $1.75 favourite (Ole Grande) and a $10 chance (Alotta Dane) when showing sound judgement with both wins coming by margins of less than half a length.

Ten days later Tsang rode another double at Broome, winning the featured Broome Sprint in runaway fashion on the $1.80 favourite Now You See Me, having also saluted two races earlier aboard the $4.40 chance Rulesque.

The Susan Olive-trained Now You See Me has been a headline horse for Tsang.

That Broome Sprint win was Now You See Me’s fifth successive victory and Tsang, who partnered Now You See Me in all of those wins and remains unbeaten aboard the son of All Too Hard, has shown in that partnership that he is as adept at handling a hot favourite as he is at steering home a $101 winner.

Tsang was very happy about his most recent win aboard Now You See Me.

“I feel like I’ve found another Ka Ying Rising in the dirt,” was Tsang’s memorable post-race quote after the Broome Sprint.

And on that Ka Ying Rising experience itself?

“He’s like a Ferrari,” said Tsang. “Best sprinter in the world.”