CHADWICK TO SHOWCASE HIS TALENTS IN ASIAN YOUNG GUNS CHALLENGE AT FLEMINGTON

MATTHEW Chadwick, the rising star of the Hong Kong riding ranks, will return to Australia to compete in the inaugural Asian Young Guns Challenge at Flemington next Saturday (August 8).

 

Chadwick, who is apprenticed to top trainer Tony Cruz, has been hailed a phenomenon in Hong Kong where he finished fourth in the premiership at his first season of riding there. He has had a meteoric rise since his fledgling days of riding in south-east Queensland.

 

Born to Chinese parents, Chadwick, 19, was adopted by an English couple living in Hong Kong when he was three months old. His father, Chris, is principal of the French International School in Hong Kong and his mother, Jenny, is also a teacher.

 

'IS CHADWICK THE NEXT CRUZ?'

Respected racing writer, Murray Bell, posed the question in the South China Morning Post recently: “Is Chadwick the next Cruz?” He went on to say:

“One of the few missing stitches in the tapestry of Hong Kong racing has been the lack of a star the locals can call their own and it’s been that way since Tony Cruz’s retirement from the saddle more than a decade ago.

Chadwick promises to singularly fix that. He is a phenomenon, combining tons of natural ability with a focus and a hunger that is rare at any age, let alone in a 19-year-old.

Most apprentices are little more than shooting comets. If they can ride well, they get a rush of opportunity while they claim their 10-pound allowance and the better ones don't slow down when the claim is reduced to seven. But as their claim gets trimmed, so do their opportunities and they are soon shown up when competing against the top-line jockeys on equal terms.

Chadwick promises to be something different. He kicked a big goal by being allocated to Cruz, who is passionate about giving the fans another home-grown champion.

But when you cut away all the wrappings, the bottom line is that Chadwick’s a huge talent. He rode a winner and a place-getter from three rides on his first day out, on December 20 (2008), and soared to third spot on the premiership, only to be relegated to fourth on the final day when Zac Purton snared a treble.

His 43 wins - an apprentice record - have been achieved from just 281 rides, at a strike rate of 15.3 per cent. Among the full-time jockeys, only Douglas Whyte owns a stronger one (16.1 per cent). But how about this statistic - Chadwick's ratio of winners to seconds is the best of any of the top-10 jockeys, strong evidence he answers to no one when it comes down to a tight finish.

Whatever the future holds for Chadwick, it's exciting to have someone who has earned the right to be talked about as ‘the next Tony Cruz’, Bell wrote.

The Asian Young Guns Challenge, being contested for the first time at Flemington next Saturday, is designed to showcase Asia’s best young riding talent. Two apprentices from Hong Kong, two from Singapore and one from Japan will take on Victoria's top two in the three-race series.

 

PHOTO OF MATTHEW CHADWICK COURTESY OF SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. IT WAS TAKEN BY KENNETH CHAN.