![\"Golden](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/sixty.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIt was sometime in the last few seasons when Derek Leung Ka-chun walked into the Hong Kong jockeys\u2019 room, glanced around and something clicked.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cI realised I was the second-oldest local jockey,\u201d he says with a grin, sweat still drying as he cools off after a gruelling hot yoga session in Causeway Bay. \u201cBut not old \u2013 experienced. I\u2019m only 37 and feel better than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Leung, experience \u2013 both on track and off \u2013 has become his strength. Sitting in the yoga studio\u2019s lounge, high above the hustle and bustle of the commercial district\u2019s intensity below, Leung speaks with the reflective, measured tone of the young veteran he has become. He is closing in on a major milestone \u2013 500 winners \u2013 an achievement that would make him just the 15th jockey in Hong Kong racing history to reach the mark.<\/p>\n
Leung\u2019s progress has always been measured against what has become a \u201cgolden generation\u201d of local jockeys \u2013 he was classmates at the Apprentice Jockeys\u2019 School with rivals Matthew Chadwick and Keith Yeung Ming-lun \u2013 who is only a few months older than Leung. Also in their group was now-assistant trainer Ben So Tik-hung. One class behind them was Vincent Ho Chak-yiu. Together, the five riders have 2,153 wins combined and counting. Most importantly, they have changed the perception of what Hong Kong\u2019s home-grown riders can achieve.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe push each other,\u201d Leung says. \u201cWhen Matthew started, he was flying. Then Vincent had his time with Golden Sixty. We all work hard, support each other, and keep coming back stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leung credits that drive \u2013 and his own discipline \u2013 for keeping him sharp. \u201cI take care of myself more carefully now than when I was younger. Yoga, fitness, diet \u2013 everything is more professional.\u201d<\/p>\n
His approach is rooted in his upbringing. The son of a Kowloon taxi driver, Leung grew up in a humble housing estate. \u201cJust a normal, local kid,\u201d he recalls. \u201cPlaying with the neighbours, running around. It keeps you grounded.\u201d<\/p>\n
That steely focus was further sharpened when he became a father. He is married to media commentator Kitty Li Kit-Ying and they have two young children.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving kids made me more patient,\u201d Leung says. \u201cIt gives you responsibility. I have to stay fit, earn money, and pay the bills. There\u2019s no time to waste.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 37, Leung is far from done. He still sees at least five more years \u2013 maybe ten \u2013 of race riding ahead of him.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cMy fitness is good, my mind is good. I just want to keep improving my CV \u2013 more winners, and hopefully more big ones.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of those \u201cbig ones\u201d could be when Lucky Sweynesse contests the G1 Sprinters\u2019 Stakes on 28 September at Nakayama, near Tokyo. \u201cHe\u2019s a very good horse,\u201d Leung says. \u201cHe came back from injury, got better with each run. If I can get him another Group 1, that would be special.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now though, the focus is on the next two winners \u2013 and number 500 \u2013 and on proving that his \u201cexperience\u201d is not just a euphemism for age, but his edge. \u220e<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
David Morgan<\/p>\n
Golden Sixty Brings Light And Learning To Vincent Ho\u2019s Recovery<\/p>\n