In the midst of a career-best season, young gun Luke Ferraris is excited to test four-year-old My Wish against quality opposition in Sunday’s Group One Champions Mile at Sha Tin.

The youngest jockey currently on Hong Kong’s roster, 23-year-old Ferraris hopes to carry his momentum from an outstanding campaign into the city’s second biggest meeting of the year.

Ferraris’ victory on Bright Inheritance at Sha Tin on Sunday boosted his haul of winners this term to 36, surpassing his previous best of 35 in 2022-23 with 24 meetings still to come.

The South African will bid to upstage the likes of Hong Kong star Voyage Bubble and nine-time Australian Group One victor, Mr Brightside, when he rides My Wish in the Champions Mile.

He also rides consistent sprinter Lucky With You in his latest clash with superstar Ka Ying Rising in the Group One Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1,200m).

A revelation this campaign with four wins and as many placings, the Mark Newnham-trained My Wish was the star of the recent four-year-old series with victory in the Classic Mile and seconds in the Classic Cup (1,800m) and Hong Kong Derby (2,000m).

“It’s nice to have a horse like that to look forward to,” Ferraris said of the pint-sized My Wish.

“It’s been an amazing journey so far, just with his progression from when he first came into the yard to where he is now. I don’t think anyone in the stable would have believed you if you told them he’d be where he is today when he first stepped out on the track. It’s been an amazing team effort – credit to Mark and his team.”

Jockey Luke Ferraris celebrates his Classic Mile win on My Wish.Jockey Luke Ferraris celebrates his Classic Mile win on My Wish.

My Wish drops back to 1,600m after a mesmerising Derby run, storming home from last after jumping from gate 14 to fall narrowly short of gunning down Cap Ferrat.

The son of Flying Artie recorded the fastest final 400m over 2,000m at Sha Tin since sectional timing was introduced in 2008 when only beaten a short head.

“He reeled off an insanely quick time in the Derby,” Ferraris said.

“The barrier was just costly, but he seems to have come through it well. His work leading up to it has been good, his trial was nice and he came through that well. It’s going to be a good test.”

Ferraris is hoping for a draw between one and six after My Wish has jumped from eight or wider in his past six starts.

“I think it will be interesting with the barriers – that’s going to play a big part,” the rider said.

“My Wish has got gate speed but we don’t want to burn too much energy early on. The mile’s probably his comfort zone at the moment. It’s obviously a really tough race, but I’ll be hoping for a decent barrier.”

Ferraris has built a successful partnership with Lucky With You in his three rides on Frankie Lor Fu-chuen’s seven-year-old, guiding him to back-to-back Class One victories before a solid third to Ka Ying Rising in the Group Two Sprint Cup (1,200m) last start.

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Lucky With You scores an effortless win under Luke Ferraris.Lucky With You scores an effortless win under Luke Ferraris.

“Lucky With You is just a soldier. He’ll be running into the money,” said Ferraris, who will ride on Champions Day for the first time since 2022.

As for the rest of the season, Ferraris plans to take it one meeting at a time rather than setting any specific goals.

“You can set those goals but then get frustrated at yourself when things aren’t going your way, so I’m just looking to get the best out of each horse at each meeting,” said Ferraris, who sits fifth in the jockeys’ championship.

“I’ve been doing that this season and it seems to be working, so we’ll just continue with it. I think if I can keep the momentum rolling through, it should work out quite nicely.

“The support’s been a lot better and more consistent and it’s been good to capitalise on that.”

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