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JERRY CHAU, SELF IMPROVEMENT \/ G3 Korea Sprint \/\/ Seoul \/\/\/ 2025 \/\/\/\/ Photo by HKJC<\/p>\nSometimes a gamble pays off, sometimes it doesn\u2019t, and then sometimes it fails but a card or two fall your way anyway. That\u2019s where Jerry Chau finds himself as he looks beyond Saturday\u2019s Shergar Cup at Ascot to the Korea Cup meeting in Seoul on September 6, where he will ride Hong Kong challengers Beauty Waves and Romantic Thor.<\/p>\n
Chau\u2019s biggest career win came in Seoul last year when he partnered another Hong Kong horse, Self Improvement, to victory in the G3 Korea Sprint. And he might have been booked for the same gelding again had he not taken a failed gamble on riding another horse, which he had hoped would fulfil another ambition to ride a big winner in Japan.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI noticed Dennis Yip wanted to send Fast Network to Japan so I asked for the opportunity to ride him there,\u201d Chau told Idol Horse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had ridden Fast Network in a barrier trial at Conghua in January and felt the Group 1-placed gelding would be suited by the fast pace you get in Japanese races. But the G2 Centaur Stakes, Fast Network\u2019s lead-in to the G1 Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama, is on the same day as Korea\u2019s big races.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the other side,\u201d Chau said, \u201cSelf Improvement\u2019s owner Mr Wong and his trainer Manfred (Man) told me he was going to Korea again. I really wanted to ride in Japan though, so I said to them I need to wait a little bit to see if I can go.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Dennis told me he had booked Damian Lane for Fast Network \u2013 they chose to get a jockey with a lot of riding experience in Japan \u2013 it was too late for me to ride Manfred\u2019s horse, the ride had gone, so I asked for the other horses, Beauty Waves and Romantic Thor.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite missing out on an opportunity to gain new experience riding in one of Japan\u2019s big races, Chau is pleased with how things have turned out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really excited about Korea,\u201d he said. \u201cI really think Beauty Waves has a good chance. He\u2019s raced once on the all-weather track in Hong Kong and he has trialled very well on it, so I think he handles the dirt. But there is a bit of a difference between the all-weather track at Sha Tin and the sand in Korea. He\u2019ll also have to handle the left turn, so it\u2019s a big challenge for him, but he has a bit of class and I hope he can handle it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI rode Romantic Thor last time in Hong Kong, in Happy Valley,\u201d he continued, \u201cand I felt like he\u2019s a real stayer type. I think he can handle the Korea Cup because I think the 1800 metres will be fine. The new surface, the sand track, might just freshen him and he can have more early speed and then stay on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tony Cruz-trained Beauty Waves is a Group 3 winner in Hong Kong who has regularly faced the best sprinters there, including the great Ka Ying Rising; the Danny Shum-trained Romantic Thor won the G3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup Handicap over 2400m at Sha Tin in May and won the Listed Dee Stakes at Chester, England two years earlier, when ridden by Ryan Moore.<\/p>\n
JERRY CHAU, SELF IMPROVEMENT \/ G3 Korea Sprint \/\/ Seoul \/\/\/ 2025 \/\/\/\/ Photo by HKJC<\/p>\n
![\"Shergar](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Shergar-team-HK-jackets-1024x729.jpg\")
VINCENT HO, JERRY CHAU, LUKE FERRARIS \/ 2026 \/\/ Photo by HKJC<\/p>\n
Chau will be up against Moore this weekend when he competes at the Shergar Cup jockey challenge, as part of the first Hong Kong team at the event, alongside Vincent Ho and Luke Ferraris. Moore was a late confirmation this week to ride for the Great Britain and Ireland team.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was watching the rider list and I\u2019m very happy Ryan Moore is joining the Shergar Cup,\u201d Chau said. \u201cAnd Dylan (Browne McMonagle) as well, he was in Hong Kong for a few months so I was riding with him and he\u2019s a very talented young jockey, he\u2019s very strong and very smart. I\u2019m really looking forward to riding against them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chau has already had a few days in London \u2013 his first visit to England \u2013 checking out sights like Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and riding the huge London Eye ferris wheel, but he has prepared for his first time riding at Ascot with a few relaxing days in Naples, Italy and will fly back to England to arrive at Ascot Thursday evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been watching many race replays of Ascot, it\u2019s a big track and very different from Hong Kong, the racing pattern is different,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very amazing for me to be part of this, I didn\u2019t think before that I\u2019d get selected to represent team Hong Kong. Now Vincent, me and Luke, I\u2019m just very excited now and I think Vincent as a captain, he will guide me and Luke in a good way, to share the experience he has from riding here before, and get a good result.\u201d<\/p>\n
A win at Ascot in the Shergar Cup would be a great summer bonus for a rider who at 26 has already experienced the drop-off from apprentice sensation into a mid-table battler. But last season he was back on the up with 48 wins, fifth in the title race and the recipient of the Tony Cruz Award as Hong Kong\u2019s leading homegrown jockey.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I won my first overseas Group race in Korea, that gave me confidence to take back to Hong Kong,\u201d he said. \u201cI asked every trainer for support and they were happy to give me a try, so I\u2019m very happy I could win for 14 different trainers. The season went quite smoothly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe overseas experience I had already helped me to calm myself down and gain more confidence. I just love riding horses, and I really love working with them, so every time I race I learn something more.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s happy with how the cards have fallen, and he believes riding at Ascot and going again to Korea will help his development as a jockey both at home and on the world stage. \u220e<\/p>\n
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