Ferraris continues red-hot form with Class One victory aboard Lucky With You
South African jockey adds to recent feature haul with TVB Cup (1,200m) success
by Jay Rooney on Sunday, February 9, 2025 7:36 PM Lucky With You soars home to win the TVB Cup under Luke Ferraris. Photos: Kenneth Chan
Riding on the crest of a wave, Luke Ferraris booted home his third feature winner in as many meetings with a superb display on Lucky With You in Sunday's Class One TVB Cup (1,200m) at Sha Tin.
The youngest jockey on Hong Kong's roster continued his incredible start to the Year of the Snake, adding to his momentum from victories on My Wish in the Classic Mile and Mr Ascendency in a Class Two at Happy Valley.
Replacing the suspended Andrea Atzeni on Lucky With You, 23-year-old Ferraris saved ground along the inside rail to lift Frankie Lor Fu-chuen's consistent sprinter to his first victory since October 2023.
'The support has been fantastic and I'll be looking to keep that going and if it does, hopefully I can keep capitalising on the decent rides,' Ferraris said after boosting his seasonal tally to 26 wins. — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) February 9, 2025
Dropping in grade after running in two Group One sprints won by Ka Ying Rising, Lucky With You settled midfield from gate one and ran on strongly when Ferraris speared him along the inside rail passing the 200m.
The Artie Schiller gelding ran past Magic Control at the 100m and burst clear to score by a length and a quarter.
Gorgeous Win ran on strongly for second ahead of Magic Control. Raging Blizzard, the $2.1 favourite, loomed ominously down the outside but couldn't repeat the heroics of his previous two victories when running sixth of eight.
'He's a lovely, game horse,' Ferraris said of Lucky With You, who ran a pair of seconds behind Lucky Sweynesse in the Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m) and Group One Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m) last season.
'He's a real soldier. He does have a bit of a short sprint so the way the race panned out was ideal. We got behind a nice horse, Magic Control, and he pulled us through to the 250m and when he had done his job, Harmony N Blessed started to fall away.
'It worked out really nicely and he hit the gap really strongly and powered away to the line, so thanks to Frankie and his team. Hopefully we can keep rolling.'
Lor, who took over training Lucky With You from David Hayes at the start of last term, was thrilled to celebrate the galloper's seventh triumph from 33 starts.
'Class One is different for him because usually he's in Group One or Group Two,' Lor said.
'He's seven years old now and it was great to get another win for the owners. Perfect ride by Luke.'
Lor is in two minds about Lucky With You's next target, with another Class One 1,200m sprint on March 9 and the Group Two Sprint Cup (1,200m) on March 30 likely options.
'We'll think about the next race for him,' Lor said. 'In March there is another 1,200m for him – it's an 85-plus. If we run in that race, he might need to carry a big weight and I need to think because a big weight sometimes isn't good for an older horse.'
Lucky With You's win was the highlight of an otherwise frustrating day for Lor on Sunday, with the handler notching three seconds courtesy of Master Trillion, Enjoy Golf and Dreaming Winner.
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