Apprentice Eric Cheung enjoyed his best day yet in Macau with a quick race to race double on Saturday to take him to 26 career wins.

Cheung who is apprenticed to Stanley Chin, started his day with dazzling win on the Tommy Tse / Louis Ho prepared Brilliant Debbie, who turned in a last to first performance to power home down the outside to win the Class 2 & 3 over 1200 metres.

Brilliant Debbie an Irish import arrived in Macau with wins at The Curragh and Navan from only seven runs in Ireland; whilst he has taken a little while to acclimatize he looks a serious racehorse judging by his win on Saturday. The son the World Champion Sprinter Sepoy was outsped in the early stages and was still a clear last in the field of 12 on the home corner. In a lovely patient ride Cheung just let the four year old balance up on straightening; coming to the outside he unleashed a whirlwind finish to win running away by almost two lengths from Luen On Eagle (Peter Ho), with Luen On Treasure (Oscar Chavez) close up in third.

The sparkling time posted by Brilliant Debbie of 1.08.9 for the Class 2 & 3 over 1200 metres was .05 quicker than the stablemate Golden Thumb recorded in winning the next race the Class 1 & 2. It seems up is the only way the gelding is going on the score of that, and he will be a major player in races like the Group 1 Chairman’s Challenge Cup (1200) or even the Macau-Hong Kong Trophy over 1500, should he prove himself at the trip. On the dam side is German Derby winner Acatenango so the distance would not be out of the question.

Eric Cheung hardly had time to cool down before he was back in the winner’s circle again with a last stride win on the Tommy Tse /Louis Ho trained Golden Thumb in the next the Class 1 & 2 over 1200 metres.

In a rough house affair for a small field of just eight runners, Golden Thumb was back at rear with Cheung patiently riding the fence. In the straight there was never a great lot of room on the back of favorite Unselfish Trust (Ruan Maia) who was also desperate for a run and in trying to get clear running Maia inconvenienced Mission Gdragon (Oscar Chavez) who was lucky not fall, but once a gap appeared Golden Thumb and Cheung literally jumped out of the ground to beat Yang Jiang Hero (Peter Ho), by a short head with Felizmaster (Charlie Chan) a neck away in fourth.

Favorite Unselfish Trust wound up in fourth only beaten a half length in fact there was only two and a quarter lengths over the first seven runners.

Golden Thumb is on the small side and goes to scales at around 1050 pounds, but lacks nothing in heart and has a tremendous finishing burst. The now five year was originally prepared by Robert Smerdon and raced as Not Another Snip in Victoria where from one start he registered a third in a Werribee Maiden.

His Macau record now reads 21 starts with five wins and six placings and at the moment close to $1.4 million HKD in prize money.

Eric Cheung has had an interesting journey on his way to Macau that started over a decade ago back in 2006, as one of many young hopeful’s that joined the Hong Kong Jockey Club Apprentice School that year.

“None of my family have ever been involved in racing but I used to watch the Hong Kong races at home and fell in love with the horse racing.”

“I joined the Hong Kong Jockey Club as a trainee apprentice but after completing my training I wasn’t chosen for an apprenticeship.” Cheung said.

After spending five years as a track work rider in Hong Kong Cheung could not quench his desire to ride in races and took it upon his self to travel to Australia in the hopes of being apprenticed.

“I first went to the Gold Coast and Toby Edmonds for awhile but I could not get a start there, so I then traveled to Warwick Farm where I was a freelance trackwork rider.”

“A friend suggested I contact Gordon Yorke at Gosford and I ended up going there and after twelve months and twenty barrier trials I got my license.”

Cheung got off to a fairytale start winning at his first race ride on Radiologist at Coff’s Harbour for Gordon Yorke on June 24th 2016.

Five months down the track with 17 winners from just over 100 race rides it was all over in Australia as quick as it started for Cheung, who after experiencing visa problems returned home to his family in Hong Kong.

After a year away from racing Cheung was enticed by former Champion jockey Stanley Chin to give it another shot in Macau and he commenced working for the stable late January this year.

Cheung is quiet tall for a jockey but is reed thin and walks around at 110 pounds. Given his great start in Macau and still eligible for a seven pounds claim, he will surely find himself in great demand from here on.

Alan Tam’s Thehorseiswithme is a on a fast track to the top judging by his impressive win in Saturdays 3 & 4 Year Old handicap over 1200 metres.

Ridden by Louis Corrales Thehorseiswithme absolutely donkey licked his rivals in the end to win by four and quarter lengths from Me Whee (Oscar Chavez), with Bada Baby (Roger Yu) in third.

Thehorseiswithme has an interesting back ground having been originally purchased for A $145,000 by Dynamic Syndications at the 2017 Melbourne Premier Sale. A pre training accident left the colt with an eye problem that eventually clouded over completely and the youngster was snapped up by James Moore for Macau.

With Macau being one the very few places worldwide that allows one eyed gallopers to compete Thehorseiswithme was placed in the care of Alan Tam and looks assured a of bright future here. He has now won two races in a row, one on the all weather and one on turf and on both occasion has run comparable time then the higher grade. His 1.09.4 for Saturday’s 1200 metres was identical to Golden Thumbs win time in the Class 1 & 2 Handicap later in the day.