Moreira Quickest to a Century in Hong Kong

Brazilian rider Joao Moreira continues to rewrite the record books in Hong Kong, as he became the quickest in history to reach the 100-win milestone in a single season with a victory in Wednesday night’s third race at Happy Valley Racecourse. It was also the 200th riding victory since arriving in Hong Kong in October 2013 following a wildly successful stint in Singapore. 

Moreira achieved the mark in the 60th fixture of the 2014-15 racing season, easily bettering the record of Douglas Whyte, who took until the month of June to earn his quickest century. Moreira is just the third to reach 100 winners in a single season, joining 13-time champion Whyte, who has accomplished the feat on a half-dozen occasions, and Zac Purton, whose 112 victories in the 2013-14 season earned him champion jockey honors. 

Whyte holds the record for total number of winners in a season on 114, and with a strike rate of 23% and with almost three months left on the racing calendar, Moreira seems a good bet to eclipse that mark as well. 

“It was great to win two races right away,” said Moreira, who had had to wait through a three-meeting suspension before he could move off the 99 mark. “The first was important because it gave me more confidence for the second. I was expecting to get stuck on 99 because that is what has happened to me the last times when I’ve been in the same position in Singapore and Brazil. Fortunately we were able to make it today.”