Hong Kong's champion jockey Joao Moreira came to the fore in the saddle again winning tonight’s the HKJC Race of the Riders in front of a sell-out crowd.

Pairing up with Germany’s Daniel Deusser, a last minute call up after Moreira’s original partner Marco Kutscher fell ill, he rode brilliantly in the jump off to give “The Magic” team a victory over the Irish Flames (Neil Callan/Betram Allen).

Moreira finished second in the inaugural HKJC Race of the Riders last year and was determined to go one better in 2016.

“We were knocking on the door last year and it is fantastic to be able to win tonight,” Moreira said. “This is not our usual type of riding so it is a challenge to come out and do this”.

His partner Daniel Deusser was impressed by Moreira’s skills in the saddle despite his distinct lack of show jumping experience. “He did very well and I am so proud to be pairing with such a champion jockey,” Deusser said.

Moreira currently holds an extraordinary lead of 58 wins in the HKJC jockey’s premiership and said winning tonight’s the HKJC Race of the Riders was a major highlight of his riding career.

Neil Callan and Bertram Allen, known as the Irish Flames team, put in a top effort to finish second. The Speed Masters, made up of current FEI World No 2 Simon Delestre and last year’s the HKJC Race of the Riders winner Vincent Ho, were third, and the Hong Kong Dynamic Duo team Jacqueline Lai and Derek Leung finished fourth.

The HKJC Race of the Riders has become popular with the Hong Kong crowd and provides them with a rare opportunity to see them in a different light away from Sha Tin and Happy Valley racetracks.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club horse mascots were out in full force entertaining the crowd with their antics and added lots of fun and color to the arena entertainment between competition rounds. 

The HKJC Race of the Riders is now one of the major highlights of the Longines Masters of Hong Kong.