A win, a ban and a death in a mixed day for young Australian rider

Jockey Chad Schofield managed one Hong Kong first he could have done without when he landed a suspension but, in the plus column for the day, also found his way back to the winner's stall on Sensation for Benno Yung Tin-pang. Schofield had won at the first two meetings but was looking at a 49-mount losing run until a copybook ride on Sensation saw him rack up number three. His ride in the feature sprint on Frederick Engels brought him a two-meeting careless riding ban and Schofield also featured in the stewards report in an opening race full of incidents. Matthew Chadwick was injured at the barrier when his mount To-Kalon thrashed about in the gates and was stood down for the rest of the day, while Schofield's mount Fishking Thunder collapsed dead in the straight after the rider felt something was wrong and eased him out of the contest. Alan Aitken

Unfashionable rider Jacky Tong justifies licence renewal

Unfashionable rider Jacky Tong Chi-kit struck the first blow this season to justify his relicensing when he streeted the field in the Class Five on Francis Lui Kin-wai-trained House Of Luck. Tong had been forced to show cause for his licence last July, after a season with just 3 wins, but the Licensing Committee threw him a lifeline for one more year. After 31 rides and no winner, things hadn't been looking good until Tong pushed House Of Luck through to lead and that was the last he saw of his rivals. House Of Luck put up the first five-length margin of the season, earned the first prize money of his eight-race career and gave Tong time to produce a winning salute that would have done Brett Prebble proud. “He’s shown ability but we didn’t see much of it in races last season," said Lui. "Still, Jacky had done a fair bit of work with him and said he was a different horse now. I didn’t expect him to win like that but I was not surprised he won." Alan Aitken

Michael Chang happy ahead of today's Sprinters Stakes draw

Japanese-based French jockey Christophe Lemaire was straight on the phone to trainer Michael Chang Chun-wai after Sprinters Stakes hopeful Rich Tapestry completed a strong gallop at Nakayama racecourse yesterday morning. "Christophe said he is going great - I just asked him to take him over 800m, and let him sprint up the last 200m and he did that well," Chang said. The trainer was scheduled to fly out to Japan this morning, with the barrier draw to be held later today. "Even though he is going well and we have him right, we really need a good draw," Chang said. The Sprinters Stakes is one of three races being simulcast for betting on Sunday, along with two races from the Arc meeting in Paris. Michael Cox