Champion Singapore jockey Joao Moreira is reported to be moving to Hong Kong later this year.
The Brazilian has been a superstar in Singapore for the past four years and has also enjoyed success on visits to Australia where he will ride again next week at the two-day Newcastle Cup carnival.
The 29-year-old has an unattainable lead in this year’s Singapore championship and rode eight winners from eight rides last Friday week.
He won the International Jockeys’ championship at Happy Valley last December when he first mooted a more permanent move to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s chief steward Kim Kelly would not confirm Moreira’s appointment to the South China Morning Post but told the newspaper a trainer, believed to be Ambitious Dragon’s trainer Tony Millard, had applied to have him ride on October 27.
“I can confirm the club has been approached by one trainer to bring jockey Joao Moreira to ride a horse in the Group Two mile race on October 27, but that application still has to be considered by the licensing committee,” Kelly said.
“And I can also say that the club is always looking for ways to strengthen the jockey roster in general and it is well known that jockey Moreira has been on our short list of potential licensees for quite some time.”
Zac Purton announced this week that he would ride the John Moore-trained Military Attack during the season, leaving Millard without a rider for dual Horse of the Year, Ambitious Dragon.
The South China Morning Post said it understood a licensing committee meeting would be convened before the end of this month to ratify Moreira’s licence for both the October 27 meeting and the rest of the season.
