Trainer Me Tsui Yu-sak says he will try to limit the workload of his apprentice Jack Wong Ho-nam to ensure a smooth transition into the pressure-cooker environment of Hong Kong racing for the new 10-pound claimer.
The 21-year-old Wong - having won 36 races in New Zealand - makes his local debut on Sunday at Sha Tin, where he expects to have five rides, including three for Tsui.
"I don't want him riding in eight or nine out of the 10 races," said Tsui as Wong met the media at Sha Tin on Tuesday.
"It's a lot of pressure for a young rider and we want to make sure he stays confident. It is hard because there are champion jockeys from all over the world here.
"I'll be just making sure Jack prepares well for races, but the main thing is that I want him to be patient.
"No one has ever been a success in one day so we will take it step by step. I tell Jack that even Joao Moreira was once at the same stage he is at now."
Wong was apprenticed to Lance O'Sullivan, brother of Hong Kong trainer Paul, but also spent time with leading handler John Sargent and a confidence-building 10-month stint with South Island trainer Mike McCann.
"Excited and a little bit nervous" was how Wong described his feelings ahead of competing against the likes of Moreira, Zac Purton and Douglas Whyte this weekend.
"I'm sure I will be fine on Sunday, I will make sure I'm ready," he said ahead of a debut that will complete a remarkable turnaround in the six years since Wong first sat on a horse.
"I was 15 and a little bit short, and my parents saw a Jockey Club advertisement in the newspaper, and it turned out to be the chance of a lifetime," he said on how his initial application to the Jockey Club Apprentice Jockeys' School came about.
Wong, who will only be licensed to ride at Sha Tin to begin with, believes his final stint with O'Sullivan has him ready for the famed intensity of Hong Kong racing.
"Lance knows how tough it is in Hong Kong and the style here so he always expected a lot from me," Wong said.
"He expected me to ride like a senior jockey in New Zealand. He taught me a lot. Lance was quite tough on me, but I handled it and it helped me be ready."
