Silvestre de Sousa eyes more Hong Kong glory after being granted 11-week licence

Silvestre de Sousa will head back to Hong Kong in November hoping he can build on a successful spell last winter, after the Hong Kong Jockey Club announced the three-time champion jockey in Britain had been granted a licence to ride from November 17 to January 31 inclusive.

De Sousa has been forced to sit out the run-in to his title defence with injuries sustained in a fall at Chelmsford on August 23, and last week he said his target for a return to the saddle was early October.

De Sousa finished fifth in the Hong Kong jockeys' standings in 2018-19 with an impressive 44 wins from 298 rides during a four-month spell.

His 15 per cent strike-rate was bettered by only Zac Purton and Joao Moreira, earning De Sousa total stakes of more than £7.2 million.

The highlight undoubtedly came with an all-the-way success on the Frankie Lor-trained Glorious Forever in the Longines Hong Kong Cup in December, while De Sousa also landed Group 2 success with Eagle Way for John Moore.

French ace Alexis Badel has also been granted a four-month licence by the club from November 1.

Hayes heading back to Hong Kong

Australian David Hayes has announced he will return to the training ranks in Hong Kong next season, 15 years after his first stint.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club confirmed that Hayes, a former champion trainer in the jurisdiction, would bolster its ranks from the start of next season and fill a void left by John Moore, who is being forced into compulsory retirement at the end of the current season.

David Hayes at Sha Tin racecourse after announcing he has accepted the Hong Kong Jockey Club's offer to return as a full-time trainer from the start of the 2020-21 seasonCredit: Hkjc

The 56-year-old backed nephew Tom Dabernig and son Ben to lead his Lindsay Park stables when he returns to Hong Kong.

"I'm very confident in Ben and Tom, otherwise I wouldn't have come to Hong Kong," Hayes said.

"They've both been a terrific help for me and I don't think we'll lose too many horses. If you're not training winners, you're going to lose horses. If you're training winners, you'll get more. I'm predicting they'll get bigger.

"It was a decision I didn't take lightly, but I've left my business in very good hands and I'm going to be 100 per cent concentrating on Hong Kong."

Hayes's Hong Kong tenure will become effective from July 13 next year.

David Hayes and the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Andrew Harding addressing the mediaCredit: Hkjc

During Hayes's first decade-long stint in Hong Kong he won two trainers' premierships as well as finishing in the top four in all his nine seasons.

He also won the Hong Kong Sprint and the Hong Kong Derby as well as 15 other Hong Kong Group 1 races.

Hayes returned to Australia in 2005 after the death of his father and a plane accident that killed his brother Peter.

David Hayes timeline

David Hayes poses with Boom Time after winning the 2017 Caulfield CupCredit: Vince Caligiuri