There were no easy rides for the punters who took very short odds indeed about Joao Moreira winning the Jockey Challenge yesterday and they were made to sweat bullets through his whole 11 rides before Cheeky Too arrived to seal it.

Moreira is often at an incredibly short price by halfway through the day as he racks up the winners but he was 1.08 in Challenge betting even before a race was run, and was still 1.80 after six races had passed him by without a winner.

Meanwhile, apprentice Kei Chiong Ka-kai was setting him up a decent tally to chase and the Brazilian needed three wins and a second from the final five races to peg her back by just two points.

Ricky Yiu Poon-fai-trained Hammer King got the Magic Man’s day back on the rails, Ruby Coast completed a double for his trainer Manfred Man Ka-leung an hour later, then John Moore-trained Cheeky Too consented to perform with the cut out of the ground to make it a treble.

Of the three, Moreira seemed to reserve his most optimistic views for Hammer King, a winner of three of five since blinkers were added to him and he still isn’t getting it quite right.

“I got held up in the straight but behind the right horses – horses that were going forward and I was going forward with them, not being pushed back,” he said. “When I got clear, he went past the second and third horses very easily and was going to win by a length and a half but he pulled up. I had to slap him with the whip and say, hey, wake up, it isn’t over yet!

“That makes me think he’s not finished winning yet, although Ricky tells me he is giving the horse a break now and that’s probably a good idea at this stage. He’s done a good job.”

Moore said the cut in the ground due to rain during the meeting had played a role for Cheeky Too, whose only other win had been in similar conditions.

“These European horses appreciate it and stretch out on it better than the firm tracks,” Moore said. “Had it been a dry track the wide gate might have been an issue but with things the way they were it was a blessing and Joao was able to just keep him a little wide and out of trouble.”

Ruby Coast does himself no favours by stumbling from the starting gates every time he races but the wet day meant that race fields were opening up and Moreira was able to save ground going up the inside rail with his finishing run.

“I don’t know why but everyone went outside and the gap came and my horse took it,” the jockey said. “He’s not a good beginner at all, and he takes some time to wind up but when he gets to his top, he’s quite fast. He has been strong at the finish of 1,400m and he was strong again today going up to the mile.”

With Man having had a retained stable rider, the suspended Gerald Mosse, Ruby Coast was Moreira’s first win for the trainer this season.