Reigning SA champion jockey Keagan de Melo has successfully completed his first stint in Hong Kong with the news that the Hong Kong Jockey Club have extended the prestigious contract opportunity to the end of the current season.
In a statement published on Thursday, the HKJC advised that Club Jockeys Andrea Atzeni, Brenton Avdulla, and Keagan De Melo have had their respective contracts extended from 13 February 2024 until the conclusion of the ongoing 2023/24 racing season.
Contract extended – Keagan De Melo has 11 wins for the season (Pic – HKJC)
The ‘Mauritian Magician’ Karis Teetan leads the quartet of SA Jockey Academy graduates currently in action in Hong Kong, with 37 winners (12,76% win strike-rate), placing him second on the championship log behind incumbent Zac Purton (50). Purton’s win strike-rate is over 17%.
Multiple former SA champion Lyle Hewitson has ridden 19 winners (6,7% win strike-rate) this term, and is on 99 in total, and on the fringe of being crowned the newest centurion in the popular jurisdiction.
Met winning jockey Luke Ferraris is next on 17 winners (9,09% win strike-rate), with De Melo, the least experienced of the quartet, on 11 winners (5,3% win strike-rate).
De Melo has accumulated a total of HK$21 445 950 in stakes this season, having ridden 14 seconds and 14 thirds.
He made an early breakthrough in one of the world’s most competitive arenas, winning at Happy Valley at just his fourth Hong King ride when Valhalla scored for the ‘King of the Valley’, Caspar Fownes.
While comparisons are academic, De Melo won the SA championship last season with 277 winners at a 19,3% win strike-rate, for gross stakes of R31 372 569.
The next Hong Kong racemeeting is at Happy Valley on Wednesday 17 January.
