A former Hong Kong horse and people connected to the city were central to the storybook ending of Australian jockey Damien Oliver’s illustrious career on Saturday.

Munhamek, who competed in Hong Kong as Hall Of Champ and won up to Class Three level before Caspar Fownes retired him in January 2022, won the A$1.5 million (HK$7.5 million) Group Three Damien Oliver Gold Rush (1,400m) in the 51-year-old rider’s last start.

Oliver’s farewell meeting in his home city of Perth was not going according to the Hollywood script until the legendary jockey, whose father, Ray, and big brother, Jason, lost their lives in falls on Western Australian tracks, steered Devine Belief to victory in the seventh of the nine races on the bumper Ascot programme.

Magnificent Andy made it a double for Oliver when they combined to win the eighth event before Munhamek surged through gaps in Ascot’s home straight to win the race to which administrators had attached the rider’s name.

Fownes, whose wife, Alix, and brother-in-law, Clint Hutchison, are two of Munhamek’s three registered owners in Australia, paid tribute to Oliver, whose honour roll includes one Hong Kong Vase, two Hong Kong Sprints and a record 125 Australian Group Ones.

“Ollie is a great rider. He’s a star,” Fownes said. “To watch him win his last three races on his farewell was incredible. So deserved, and what a fairy-tale finish for him. We’re all proud of him. It’s good that when you decide to pull up stumps, you stick to it. I think that’s a good thing. Hopefully, his next chapter is really good for him. We wish him the very best.”

Munhamek returned to racing in August 2022, with former Victorian champion jockey Nick Ryan training him out of his Flemington yard. The Damien Oliver Gold Rush was Munhamek’s fifth victory from 13 Australian starts, with his other successes including a Listed contest.

“The horse was a clean horse when we retired him here. There was nothing wrong with him,” Fownes said. “Very happy and proud he’s been able to perform there.”

Father of the groom’s wedding present

Sticking with Australia, and that is from where David Hayes watched brown-lamped Regent Glory’s fitting win in Sunday’s Class Four Lukfook Jewellery Wedding Collection Handicap (1,200m) on Sha Tin’s dirt track.

It was appropriate Regent Glory, whom punters backed from $19 to $6.80 in the 30 minutes leading up to the all-weather sprint, won because Hayes is in Australia for the nuptials of his eldest son, Ben, and Lindsay Park Racing client liaison manager Grace Ramage.

On his dirt debut and seeking to snap his nine-race losing streak, Regent Glory settled in third, improved to second around the final turn and ran on strongly to score by three-quarters of a length under Zac Purton.

“They’re enjoying themselves back home. While they’re having fun, we’re up here having fun,” Purton said.

“It was good to see the horse do that. Things just didn’t go well for him at the Valley last start. He’s always trialled well on the dirt, so we came up with the idea to run him there, and he did a good job.”

Chung sustains leg injury before feature race

Ima Single Man played up during the loading process for Sunday’s Class Two Lukfook Jewellery Cup (1,000m) at Sha Tin, prompting Jockey Club stewards to scratch him at the gates and the organisation’s chief medical officer to stand down his injured apprentice rider, Angus Chung Yik-lai, for the rest of the card.

Chung hurt his left leg when Ima Single Man backed out of the barriers, and missed out on riding Master Hero and Sakewin. Hewitson steered Master Hero, who placed third in the Class Four Lukfook Jewellery Heirloom Fortune Collection (1,600m), and Dylan Mo Hin-ting partnered Sakewin to last in the Class Three Lukfook Jewellery Beloved Collection Handicap (1,200m).

Circuit Stellar and his namesakes join Mo

Cody Mo Wai-kit is the latest trainer to have a 100-rated galloper added to his stable following the arrival of Circuit Stellar and three other Circuit-prefixed gallopers from his former boss, Tony Cruz.

Twelve active Hong Kong horses have names beginning with Circuit, and rookie handler Mo trains eight of them after Circuit Blazing, Circuit Elite, Circuit Seven and Circuit Stellar moved to his yard last week.

Circuit Stellar, a Listed victor in Ireland and twice successful at Class Two level in Hong Kong – he was Cruz’s 1,000th Sha Tin winner as a trainer – joins Mo’s team that has celebrated five triumphs this season.

Mo fired blanks in three of Sunday’s 10 races with Happy Fat Cat, Celtic Times and Celestial Power.