Atzeni Has Power at the Valley

Andrea Atzeni has rocketed into third place in the 2024/25 Hong Kong jockeys' championship and the Italian ace is aiming to continue a prosperous stretch of form when he takes seven rides at Happy Valley today.

- 

The 34-year-old rode 10 winners through March from 51 pairings to lift his score to 36 behind only Zac Purton (87 wins) and Hugh Bowman (51). Brenton Avdulla (34) and Luke Ferraris (33) are the only other riders to surpass the 30-win mark this season.

Atzeni based himself permanently in Hong Kong ahead of the 2023/24 campaign. He rode 48 winners through his first full term, which served as his second taste of the city's ultra-competitive circuit after a short stint in 2014/15 where he triumphed three times.

Crystal Powerful seeks consecutive wins with Atzeni in the Class 4 Japan Racing Association Trophy Handicap (1000m) from barrier two for trainer Cody Mo. The Exceed And Excel gelding was successful in Class 5 on 12 March at the Valley.

"He's up in class, so I think he needs everything to go right for him. I was hoping for a good draw and we got a good draw, so hopefully he gets some luck in running and with that weight (55kg) he should be competitive again," Atzeni said.

A two-time winner over 1200m, Crystal Powerful was able to capitalise under Atzeni for the first time over 1000m by a head last month at the city circuit.