In the throes of a strong debut Hong Kong season, Jamie Richards continued to build impressive momentum by striking with his only two runners – Magniac and Sixth Generation – to notch a Happy Valley double on Wednesday night (19 April).

With six winners from only 21 runners for April so far, Richards has posted 27 winners from 235 runners for a strike rate of 11.4%, accelerating steadily after making a deliberately slow start to the season.

The New Zealander hopes Magniac, winner of the second section of the Class 3 Ho Man Tin Handicap (1200m) under Zac Purton, will develop into a quality galloper next season after the three-year-old claimed a HK$1 million PP Bonus as well as prize money of HK$983,250.

“He got a nice run, there was good pace in the race which suited him, a little bit of rain around doesn’t worry him, either, hopefully he can build on it,” Richards said. “He’s going to be a nice horse for next season. We won’t race him too much for the rest of the season.

“He’s got a little bit of upside, hopefully. He’s here, he’s acclimatised well and settled into life here very well. He’s a very good-looking horse, he eats well – he’s got a few things in his favour, so looking forward to the future.”

Sixth Generation gave Vincent Ho a brace as the Per Incanto gelding made it three wins from his last four starts, blitzing his rivals with a four-length victory in the second section of the Class 4 King’s Park Handicap (1650m).

“It was a really good run and a very good ride from barrier nine. Vincent made it look pretty straightforward, when it isn’t. He got in a lovely spot, he was able to cut the corner and he won really nicely. It’s good to see him going so well. I’m sure the handicapper won’t miss him, but we’ll see what happens,” Richards said.