The licensing committee of the Hong Kong Jockey Club announced Thursday that champion English jockey Silvestre de Sousa will ride in Hong Kong for the period beginning Nov. 1, 2018, up to and including Feb. 28, 2019.
Formerly a retained rider for Godolphin, de Sousa won the 2014 G1 Dubai World Cup aboard African Story (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), then rode 132 winners as a freelance rider in Britain in 2015 to land his first championship. He repeated the feat in 2017, winning 155 races, and rode twice previously on short-term contracts in Hong Kong, winning a total of 16 races each time. In early 2017, de Sousa teamed with 'TDN Rising Star' Pakistan Star (Ger) (Shamardal) to finish second in the Hong Kong Derby and again in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup. The Brazilian was booked to ride that Tony Cruz trainee in last year's QE II Cup, but was required to remain in England. Pakistan Star ultimately won the 2000-metre contest when ridden by William Buick.
De Sousa did not ride on a short-term contract during the 2017/2018 season, but did participate in the Longines International Jockeys' Championship, posting a victory and a runner-up effort to finish second to the locally based Zac Purton.
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