The exciting Young Champion was the star of the show as Karis Teetan put a frustrating run of near misses behind him with a treble at Sha Tin on Saturday.

Winless since February 28 with six seconds and a pair of thirds in that streak, the Mauritian jockey broke through on David Hayes’ Solid Shalaa and then saluted aboard the Mark Newnham-trained Sing Dragon before guiding Young Champion to victory in the Class Two Sheung Yeung Shan Handicap (1,400m).

Teetan’s emphatic return to the winner’s stall strengthened his grip on second place in the jockeys’ premiership, boosting his tally to 53 wins this season. Zac Purton had a rare meeting without a winner but still holds a commanding lead with 79 victories.

Teetan was blown away by John Size’s Young Champion, who enhanced his burgeoning reputation with a second triumph from three Hong Kong starts.

“Wow. Amazing – this is when you know you ride for Mr Size,” Teetan beamed. “I need to thank Mr Size and [Young Champion’s owners] the Racing Club for the opportunity to ride such a progressive horse like this one. It was just a pleasure.”

Fresh from an impressive second-up win under James McDonald, Young Champion was sent out a popular $2.4 favourite and Teetan delivered the goods from an awkward draw in barrier nine.

He took the Zoustar gelding back to seventh position to find cover before making his run down the outside in the straight.

Young Champion launched a strong run to sweep to the lead approaching the 200m, with Teetan easing him down late to score comfortably by a length.

Second favourite Blue Marlin was desperately unlucky in second after he was badly held up in a pocket for most of the straight, while Lucky Encounter was close behind in third.

Teetan said pre-race instructions from Size boosted his confidence in Young Champion.

“Today from that draw, there was plenty of speed in this race and Mr Size told me ‘Be confident on this horse, he’s got the class, leave him where he’s comfortable and he will give you his best’,” Teetan said.

“I must say he felt really good. He’s still raw and you’re going to see a bright future with this horse, definitely.”

Size isn’t sure what level Young Champion can reach in Hong Kong, but the 12-time champion trainer has been impressed with what the four-year-old has produced so far.

“He’s quite progressive,” Size said. “As you can see, he’s made the adaptation very quickly to Hong Kong and that’s what the better horses do, they adapt very fast.

“He ran very well. It looked like he was very comfortable a long way from home. There was never any doubt about how he was going to perform after he got halfway through the race. It was set up nicely for him, it was run to suit and he accepted it.”

Teetan wove his magic on Solid Shalaa in the Class Four Lai Pek Shan Handicap (1,200m) on the dirt to chase down Aca Power late for a narrow win.

“He just needed a little bit of luck and he’s got the luck today and it was a good ride by Karis,” said Hayes.

Sing Dragon broke through for his first Hong Kong win at start three, leading all the way under Teetan in the Class Three Association Of Hong Kong Racing Journalists Challenge Cup (1,200m) on the dirt.