Japanese racing legend Yutaka Take heads a star studded lineup of International jockeys bound for Macau on Saturday January 21st.
The riders will be competing in the inaugural running of the International Mixed Doubles Jockeys Challenge to be held at the Taipa racetrack.
Jockey challenges around the world are an age old concept; however the MJC’s Mixed Doubles Jockeys Challenge will see a lineup of six teams each consisting of one male and one female, competing against each other in a unique racing promotion that is the first of its kind worldwide.
The doubles partners will be selected via a ballot and will compete in three races to be run on the turf, with the team accumulating the most points being the victors.
Yutaka Take is a national celebrity in Japan who has been crowned Champion jockey on 16 occasions. With more than 4000 winners to his credit, Yutaka has over 100 Group 1 victories and overall has amassed more than 300 Graded races in Japan.
Take has won the Japan Cup on four occasions, the most recent being an all the way win on Kitasan Black last November. He is best remembered worldwide for his association with the champion Deep Impact who he rode to victory in the 2006 Japan Cup.
Joining Yutaka Take to represent Hong Kong will be the flamboyant Frenchman Olivier Doleuze a crowd favorite wherever he rides, who is known for his exuberant winning displays.
A former Champion Apprentice in France, Doleuze has made Hong Kong his home for more than a decade, and is remembered for his wonderful association with the former 2008 Hong Kong Horse of The Year Good Ba Ba.
Representing Korea is reigning Champion jockey Moon Se Young who has been the most dominant rider in Seoul for more than a decade.
With over 1300 race winners to his credit, Moon Se Young is only the second jockey in Korea to top the 1000 win mark. His biggest wins to date have been the 2007 Grand Prix and the 2012 Korea Derby.
Former six times Macau Champion Manoel Nunes returns to Taipa this time to represent Singapore.
Brazilian born Nunes has won the last three Singapore Jockeys Titles and has ridden in excess of 2000 race winners. Manoel Nunes holds a rare distinction in winning the Triple Crown in his homeland of Brazil and also winning Macau’s Triple Crown in 2010 on Luen Yat Forever.
For the Macau side four times Champion Luis Corrales will carry the local’s hopes. Corrales will be looking to repeat his success against the international visitors as he did in 2010 when he won Macau’s International Sand Premier Cup on Golden Star.
Rounding out the male riders is New Zealander Andrew Calder who will represent his home country and has plenty of local knowledge on his side.
Calder has pretty much made Macau his base since winning the Derby on Imabayboy in 2011, and last year took out Macau’s other premier event the Macau – Hong Trophy.
Heading the lineup for the Ladies is Australia’s Katelyn Mallyon who has twice been crowned Victoria’s Champion apprentice.
Mallyon is the granddaughter of racing great Mick Mallyon a multiple Caulfield Cup winning rider. She has ridden 238 winners from her 2426 race rides.
Representing Brazil is Jeane Alves De Lemos, a highly respected rider that has traveled much of the world. Alves has ridden 473 winners from her 3890 race rides with her biggest win the GP Brazil Breeders Cup Challenge in 2015.
Emily Finnegan has made a big impact in South Australian racing with 143 winners to her name in only two seasons. Emily has answered the call to represent her home country of Ireland and will be looking to add to her fine record.
Also from Japan is Nanako Fujita who is the first female rider to be licensed by the JRA in 16 years.
Whilst her record does not read as attractive as the other competitors with six winners from her 2713 rides, she has already gained some International exposure competing in the Sheika Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Championships in Abu Dhabi in November last year.
Korean Kim Hye Sun makes her second trip to Macau riding for her home country and will be a worthy opponent in the challenge.
Kim Hye Sun became the first lady rider in Korea to ride 100 winners, and has 207 winners from 2754 race rides to date. Kim Hye Sun also represented Korea in the Abu Dhabi’s Ladies World Championships in November last year
Completing the lineup is Jacqueline Davis a highly respected rider on the tough New York racing circuit in the USA.
Jacqueline is a graduate from Hall of Fame Jockey Chris McCarron’s Racing Academy and has kicked home 523 race winners from 4803 rides.
Her biggest wins to date have been the 2013 African Prince Stakes at Suffolk Downs and the 2016 New York Oaks.
It’s a colorful lineup from around the globe for the launch of the first Mixed Doubles Jockeys Challenge. It’s an exciting innovation that is sure to prove a winner with racegoers.
Interested parties that would like to make reservations for the day can do so by contacting Ms. Mary May at the Macau Jockey Club mjcracing@mjc.mo or phone + 853 8397 7523 (office) or + 853 6688 9509 (mobile).
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Yutaka Take | 
Manoel Nunes | 
Katelyn Mallyon | 
Kim Hye Sun | 
Jacqueline Davis |
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