Prominent Australian jockey Ethan Brown and home-grown apprentice Nichola Yuen Hang-yiu will join Hong Kong’s elite riding ranks for the end of the season after they were granted short-term licences by the Jockey Club.

One of the most sought-after riders in Australia at the moment, 26-year-old Brown will ride in races in the city from April 26 to the season finale at Happy Valley on July 15.

Brown has racked up more than 600 wins including 10 at Group One level, forming a strong association with one of Australia’s leading trainers in Ciaron Maher after completing his apprenticeship. His minimum riding weight is 121lb.

“Over the moon having secured a 4 month contract over Hong Kong’s summer months this year. Looking forward to this new challenge,” Brown posted on X.

Yuen will be permitted to ride in Sha Tin races from April 1, while the Jockey Club is yet to confirm which trainer she will be assigned to.

The 25-year-old joined the club’s trainee programme in 2016 as a trainee apprentice jockey, working for several local stables before starting overseas training in South Australia in 2021.

She rode 61 winners in three years Down Under before gaining more experience riding in New Zealand and most recently South Africa. Her minimum riding weight is 110lb.

Yuen’s addition to the Hong Kong apprentice ranks comes as the Jockey Club announced apprentice Britney Wong Po-ni has been cleared to resume riding trackwork after recovering from a fractured leg.

Wong sustained the injury in a scary barrier incident at Sha Tin on November 23 when her mount, Family Knight, reared and became cast in the stalls, getting its left leg over the starting-gate partition.

The 26-year-old has ridden six winners in her first Hong Kong campaign.