Monday, May 4, 2026
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Doubles at rain-sodden Sha Tin kept Francis Lui and John Size right in the hunt for a trainers' title race that promises to be the headline act of the late Hong Kong season.
Lui and Size head our trainer ratings but it is cramped at the top, just like the official championship, where there is a spread of eight wins across the top six trainers and it is looking like one of the great finishes.
In 1992-93, just four wins covered the top five trainers at season's end, with a dead-heat result at the top declared for David Hill and John Moore, and this year's contest is shaping like the closest since then. There has been a dead-heat since, when John Size and Caspar Fownes finished level in 2013-14 but the rules had changed and Fownes was the winner on a countback of second placegetters, but that pair had come away from the rest of the field.
Separation from the field is proving tough this year, with a number of the top handlers pulling off a big afternoon or night to get the lead, only to find themselves challenged again as one of their rivals did the same the next week.
There's nothing like that happening with the jockeys' championship or our jockey ratings as Zac Purton maintains a very comfortable lead on both, notwithstanding the excellent form of Andrea Atzeni, who is keeping the pressure on Hugh Bowman for second position on the rankings.

 
(Note, apprentice jockey ratings reflect performances with their allowance "built in". As their claim reduces and they compete on a more equal footing, we expect their rating to deteriorate unless they are top class riders.)
​These ratings are updated regularly and designed to reflect current form but with past figures also putting a brake on hot-streak performers or uplifting a long-term quality player having a quiet run.