Riding on the crest of a wave, Jerry Chau Chun-lok is excited to represent Hong Kong on the international stage again when he rides Self Improvement in Saturday night’s Group Two Riyadh Dirt Sprint (1,200m).

With eight wins from just 25 rides in February, Chau heads to Saudi Arabia in elite form after taking the lead in the Tony Cruz Award and jumping to fourth on the jockeys’ championship standings.

The 25-year-old’s strong campaign kicked off in style when he booted home Self Improvement in the Group Three Korea Sprint (1,200m) in September – his first overseas success outside of his training stint in Australia.

Manfred Man Ka-leung’s consistent dirt performer passed his first test on Seoul’s unique sand track, but he faces a new challenge on King Abdulaziz racecourse’s dirt surface against stronger international opposition.

“I’m very excited. It’s a new racecourse to ride and it’s a big race. I will enjoy riding there,” Chau said.

“I spoke to Manfred and he said the horse settled pretty well and has handled the track pretty well. The horse has galloped well there and his weight is back to his normal weight. Everything sounds good and I can’t wait to go there and get on him.”

Self Improvement, a four-time winner on the Sha Tin dirt, made all in a trial late last month before travelling to Saudi Arabia.

The six-year-old clashes with American dirt performers, including Group One winner Lovesick Blues and Bob Baffert’s Imagination, strong representation from Japan and raiders from the UK and Dubai.

“It’s a bit stronger than Korea – more Japanese horses and some from the US, but I think Self Improvement will do his best and run well for me,” Chau said.

Man is more hopeful than confident of another overseas triumph.

“The race is quite strong and stronger than Seoul but all we can do is try our best. It is exciting as it is our first time in a Saudi Cup race,” he said.

“This is a great racecourse and we’ve come here to try the race and feel very happy to represent Hong Kong.

“It is hard to say he has a good chance, but I hope he will come quite close and we will try our best.”

Self Improvement has drawn barrier eight in the field of 13, with the race run at 10.40pm HKT.

The highlight of Saturday night’s Riyadh card is the world’s richest race, the US$20 million (HK$156.34 million) Group One Saudi Cup (1,800m), with Japanese star Forever Young chasing consecutive wins in the feature.

Forever Young broke Hong Kong hearts when he narrowly beat champion galloper Romantic Warrior in the Saudi Cup 12 months ago.

“Maybe this is going to be Forever Young’s last time to be able to compete in the Saudi Cup, so we will do our best to bring his full potential,” trainer Yoshito Yahagi said.

“This year also has a strong lineup but the most important thing is to do my job and bring his best potential.”