Dylan Mo says he is composed as he prepares to compete in his first Group 1 race aboard Winning Wing in Sunday\u2019s (1 March) HK$13 million G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin.<\/p>
Mo\u2019s composure stems from the close partnership he\u2019s built with Winning Wing, who was procured to race in Hong Kong by his close friend, former jockey-turned-bloodstock agent Kei Chiong. Three of Mo\u2019s four wins this term have come aboard the Francis Lui-trained five-year-old with whom he\u2019s developed a strong bond.<\/p>
Winning Wing has enjoyed a progressive season that has resulted in a 20-point boost in his rating. Much of the gelding\u2019s improvement can fairly be attributed to Mo, who has not only been in the saddle for each of Winning Wing\u2019s 15 career runs, but also rarely misses a trackwork session with the New Zealand-bred bay.<\/p>
While the 32-year-old Mo is excited to rub shoulders with Hong Kong\u2019s elite riders at Group 1 level for the first time, he said he doesn\u2019t feel nervous because he\u2019s confident about Winning Wing\u2019s ability.<\/p>
\u201cI\u2019m very happy I can ride in the Group 1 with Winning Wing,\u201d Mo said. \u201cI\u2019m not too excited that it\u2019s a Group 1; I just very much enjoy that I can ride this horse in a Group 1.<\/p>
\u201cI\u2019m very comfortable riding him in the race because I\u2019ve been riding Winning Wing from his first start until now, so I know this horse. I think he is a very good horse,\u201d he added.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”8455″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Mo, who will celebrate a decade in the city\u2019s jockey ranks next season, acknowledged his position in the pecking order of riders in a jurisdiction as competitive as Hong Kong, and that he is fortunate to have maintained his association with the improving galloper.<\/p>
\u201cMy first feeling is that just to ride in a Group 1, I\u2019m very lucky, and I\u2019m lucky that the owner and the trainer have given me support like this. I should just try my best for them.\u201d<\/p>
Winning Wing also finds himself in the rarefied air of Group 1 level for the first time. He was far from disgraced in his most high-profile race to date, the G3 January Cup Handicap (1800m), when he finished fifth, two lengths behind winner Speed Dragon.<\/p>
However, the quality in Sunday\u2019s six-runner field takes the son of Preferment to another level; he meets Voyage Bubble, My Wish, Ensued, Beauty Joy and the mighty Romantic Warrior at set weights. Yet Mo remains unfazed even at the mention of those luminaries.<\/p>
\u201cOf course, Romantic Warrior is a good horse, but my horse has improved a lot this season. So I\u2019ll try my best and give it 100 per cent,\u201d he said. \u201cIn this moment, at 2000 metres, the horse has had quite good results.<\/p>
\u201cI don\u2019t feel nervous. Whatever happens, I\u2019ll know I\u2019ve done my best. It\u2019s just like riding in a normal race. If you win, you will win! No pressure. I\u2019m just relaxed.\u201d<\/p>
Sunday\u2019s (1 March) 11-race fixture at Sha Tin starts at 12.30pm with the Class 4 Citi Wealth Handicap (1800m). The HK$13 million G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) jumps at 3.45pm, while the meeting also features the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m), which will be run at 4.35pm.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”8454″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Dylan Mo says he is composed as he prepares to compete in his first Group 1 race aboard Winning Wing in Sunday\u2019s (1 March) HK$13 million G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin.Mo\u2019s composure stems from the close partnership he\u2019s built with Winning Wing, who was procured to… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":8456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"2normal","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-citi-hkgold-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8452"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-citi-hkgold-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-citi-hkgold-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-citi-hkgold-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-citi-hkgold-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8452"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-citi-hkgold-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8463,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-citi-hkgold-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8452\/revisions\/8463"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-citi-hkgold-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-citi-hkgold-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-citi-hkgold-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-citi-hkgold-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}