FRENCH jockey Antoine Hamelin was in the money at Sha Tin on Sunday morning.
The 29-year-old banged in a stunning 456,000-1 five-timer from his nine rides at the Hong Kong track.
But punters would have done well to pick out all the winners with plenty of big-priced chances doing the business.
And with the prize money for those wins totalling over £345,000, Hamelin will be smiling on his way home with his cut under his arm.
It took until only the second race for Hamelin to strike.
Golden Link, a 147-10 poke, was a narrow winner of the Snipe Handicap worth £53,000 to the winner.
Hamelin had to wait until four races later to strike again but it was then that his momentum really hit top gear.
After 13-1 poke Family Folks triumphed, Ping Hai Bravo made it number three in the very next race at 103-10.
And Hamelin wasn’t done there. Well-named Hongkong Great did the business in the very next, the 16-1 winner Hamelin’s third on the spin.
Then in the lucky last, Hamelin put the cherry on top with a stunning fifth winner as Tempest Express won.
The Frenchmen told the Hong Kong Jockey Club: “It’s a crazy day, amazing, I’m very happy. It’s been a little quiet, but today I’m jockey of the day.
“To win five races, it’s amazing – last season was very good for me (17 winners), this season has been a little bit quiet.
“But you never give up. You focus, stay strong in the head and you have to keep going. Hong Kong is a very tough place.”
Separated from his family because of COVID-19 restrictions, Hamelin added: “My life is perfect – I’m happy in Hong Kong, I love the life, the city and I have a lot of time for my favourite hobby of climbing.”
Hamelin’s previous best harvest was a quartet.
He explained: “The other time was a long time ago in France at Fontainbleau.
““I never thought I would do this today with five winners!”
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