Trainer Casper Fownes will hope that Joao Moreira hits the ground running when he kicks off his latest riding stint in Hong Kong at Happy Valley tonight.
Fownes currently holds down second place in the Hong Kong Trainer’s Championship with 43 winners, sandwiched between Mark Newnham (who leads the way with 47 winners ) and David Hayes (in third place on 41) and he sees the arrival of Moreira as his retained stable rider as a significant addition to his team, one that is likely to give added impetus to Fownes’ quest for a fifth trainer’s title.
Certainly, the Fownes / Moreira combination have the all-around expertise to give the title race a real shake, with both trainer and rider already both having four Championships behind their names.
They both won their respective championships in 2020/21.
Before that Fownes took out the training title honours in 2006/7. 2008/9, 2013/14 … while Moreira’s earlier Championship wins came in 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17.
Moreira originally moved to Hong Kong in 2013 and, in the following years he printed his name indelibly on the fabric of Hong Kong Racing, building an enormous local support base from owners, trainers and fans as well as cultivating an intense rivalry with fellow champion rider Zac Purton which produced many a thrilling contest, not least in Moreira’s last full season in Hong Kong (in 2021/22) when Purton too out the Championship … 136 winners to 133 winners.
That rivalry will now be renewed to the delight of the local enthusiasts with Fownes and Moreira coming out with all guns blazing with Moreira having for a full book of rides for Fownes over the nine race meeting at Happy Valley, a track where Fownes has forged a formidable reputation.
