Nov 13, 2024

Former Macau-based trainer Ricky Choi Chun Wai is eyeing a winning start to his Malaysian campaign after putting in all the hard work for the past several months.

Choi has entered seven horses, spearheaded by Who Love To Dance who will contest the Metro A set-weight event over 1400m (Race 4), at Sungai Besi this Sunday.

His very first runner will be Lucky To Win (Race 2), a good omen perhaps for Choi. 

His other entries are Luen On Feelings (Race 3), Oriental Halflamma (Race 6), Brother Lian’an (Race 7), Handsome Joyful (Race 8) and Wealthyness (Race 9). 

“I am both excited and hopeful at starting a new chapter of my career,” said Choi. “Of course, a winner or two to kick off my new journey will be a morale booster.” 

Choi has 27 horses – all former Macau gallopers – in training at his new base with some having arrived here last June, others in August.

“I have given them time to acclimatize and all of them have gone through barrier trials,” he said.

“Depending on how these horses fare here, I might convince my owners who are all from Hong Kong to invest in new stocks.”

Will any of the owners be here to cheer on their horses this Sunday?

“I am hoping at least one of them will come, if not I understand. They are busy running their businesses and it takes a four-hour flight to reach here. Anyway, I hope to bring them good news.”

While Choi has been waiting for the right time to send out his first runner, one ex-Macau galloper he has been keeping tab on is Daylight.

Daylight was trained by Choi when he raced as Yuanno in Macau, winning four races including the Group 3 Derby Trial. He then ran second in the Group 1 Macau Guineas and third in the Group 1 Macau Derby.

Daylight, now trained by Wayne Lim, has raced four times at 1200m and 1300m for a third and fourth (last Sunday). “He needs a bit of distance,” Choi said.

It’s heartening to Choi that three ex-Macau gallopers – Gold Samurai, Mega Gems and Silver Samurai – have already found success in Malaysia and he is keen to add to that number this Sunday and in the weeks to come.

Choi began his racing career as an apprentice with the Hong Kong Jockey Club in 1990 and rode until 1998 during which he bagged the champion apprentice title in the 1991/92 season.

He then rode in Macau in 2000 and 2011 before hanging up his boots and became a stable supervisor to trainer Geoff Allendorf.

He was promoted to assistant trainer in the 2014/15 season, a position he held until September 2018 when he was granted a trainer’s licence.

Choi has tasted success in Macau’s biggest race, the Derby, when he was the assistant to Allendorf. The stable won the 1800m classic for four-year-olds with Turquoise Power in 2016.

Choi later picked up three trophies in his own right – the Honorary Racing Stewards Charity Cup with Star of Yiu Sun in the 2018/19 seasons, the Macau Classic Cup with Smart Win (2019/20) and the Bonus Cup with Cumberbatch (2021/22).

Although seven years old, Who Love To Dance has not done much racing, having starting out only as a four-year-old in Australia where he managed two wins over 1666m and 2000m and came second four times in nine starts.

Over at Macau, Who Love To Dance won once over 1600m and was placed twice in just six runs before racing came to an end in the former Portugese enclave and he was flown to Malaysia last June.

Who Love To Dance will be up against the likes of Berry Bliss, Violet, Good Fight and Gulf Eagle who is gunning for his fourth win in-a-row.

Lucky To Win won at 1350m in Australia and also picked up a win over 1800m in Macau.

Luen On Feelings managed three wins at 1500m and 1800m while Oriental Halflamma had four wins at 1050m and 1350m.

Brother Lian’an won seven races from 1200m to 1500m, Handsome Joyful had three wins at 1050m on the sand track and Wealthyness came with a record of six wins at 1200m and 1500m.

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