Lyle Hewitson made a winning return to his homeland of South Africa when taking out the Group One World Pool Moment Of The Day Champion Stakes (1,600m) aboard Erik Dubois at Greyville on Sunday.

Trainer Louis Goosen secured his first Group One victory after 35 years in the ranks thanks to the two-year-old son of Erik The Red, who overcame his double-figure quote to record just his second career win from five starts after breaking his maiden on debut.

Three-time South African champion jockey Hewitson was thrilled to celebrate the victory on one of the biggest days of racing in the country, surrounded by friends and family including his one-year-old son Myles.

“Very, very happy, it was special; it was the trainer’s first Group One winner and he’s been training for 35 years, so it was just really, really nice,” Hewitson said.

“It was fantastic and I had all the family down, so it was just amazing. It’s the first time Myles has been in the winner’s box, never mind for a Group One, so that was awesome. We had all of them down there. Because it was Louis’ first Group One, he had a tear in his eye, which I just thought made it so special. The moment was his – it was great.”

Hewitson gave Erik Dubois the perfect ride from an ideal draw of barrier two, and was able to run down Kazenoyoni in the final stages to score by a neck.

“I had the perfect draw, so I could ride the race I wanted to ride, and it worked out perfectly,” Hewitson said.

“We wanted to be running somewhere around fifth or sixth, we just thought he’s a better horse with a bit of cover, because he’s quick when he’s ridden that way. We weren’t going to use the draw to be up in the box seats, we got the exact spot we wanted; we wanted to be up in the middle of the track, and he did the rest.

“He actually moved up quite well, and then we had a bit of a fight on our hands, but I always felt that when I went for the persuader, I was going to get the half a length extra that I needed. So it worked out great.

“The race was run a bit slow, but I was always travelling with the right demeanour – never too strong, never under pressure. So I had a lot of confidence the whole way around. When it came down to the business end, it was just about getting him to show a bit of fight, which he did.”

There was also a Hong Kong connection involved that enabled Hewitson to secure the ride for owner Lawrence Wernars, who is due to have runners in Hong Kong this coming season.

“Obviously I’d ridden for Louis a bit when I was here, but nothing more than just the occasional ride. My agent here thought it was a good ride to get and the owner, Lawrence Wernars, has just got an ownership permit in Hong Kong, so that also played a part in it. There were a lot of intricacies that played a part in getting the ride. Who knows, maybe Erik Dubois will be on his way [to Hong Kong] next,” Hewitson said.

Hewitson had rides in all 10 races on the card, and believed King Pelles was his strongest chance in the Group Three World Pool Gold Cup (3,200m).

“It’s amazing how racing works – I thought King Pelles was my one that I could sort of point on the day, and unfortunately he went wrong in the race and I had to pull him out. But I ended up winning a more important race, being a Group One. I couldn’t have scripted it,” Hewitson said.

Hewitson will spend the rest of the off-season away from the track, enjoying a break before resuming at Sha Tin’s opening meeting for the 2026-27 season on September 6.

“Now it’s the freshen up. I’ve got two days of golf at the Racing Masters with owners, trainers and jockeys today and tomorrow. Then I’m going to Port Elizabeth to see family then will head to Mauritius for 10 days with my dad [who trains there] and my sisters, so that’ll be awesome,” Hewitson said.

Korea entries released

The Manfred Man Ka-leung-trained Self Improvement will look to defend his title in the Group Three Korea Sprint (1,200m) at Seoul, this time with Dylan Mo Hin-tung in the saddle.

Hong Kong connections have entered a solid contingent of horses for the South Korean sand track features on September 6, including six gallopers for the Korea Sprint and two for the Group Two Korea Cup (1,800m).

Korea Sprint entries include Tony Cruz’s Beauty Waves, Ricky Yiu Poon-fai’s Victory Sky and Pierre Ng Pang Chi’s Victor The Winner, while Blazing Wind and Gorgeous Win round out the entries for Danny Shum Chap-shing.

The Korea Cup entries are Group Three Queen Mother Memorial Cup (2,400m) winner Romantic Thor for Shum and Group One Champions Mile (1,600m) placegetter Sunlight Power for Yiu.

Next season’s schedule

The Jockey Club has confirmed dates for the 2026-27 season, with Hong Kong racing set to get under way at Sha Tin on Sunday, September 6.

International raiders will descend on the city for the running of the Longines Hong Kong International Races on December 13, while the city’s most coveted race, the Hong Kong Derby, will be run on March 21, followed by FWD Champions Day on April 25.

The season will wrap up with the finale expected to be run at Happy Valley on July 14.