HARRY Bentley is ‘chomping at the bit’ ahead of his first book of rides in Hong Kong.
The top jockey has decided to skip the first half of the British Flat season to ride in the Far East until July.
And the Group 1-winning rider is in demand going into Sha Tin’s big meeting on Saturday.
He is set to take six rides having completed his mandatory 21-day spell in Covid-19 quarantine.
He said: “It was definitely a surprise to get a chance to ride here.
“I’ve already said it a few times, but I always really wanted to come out here at one stage and give it a go because I feel like I fit the mould quite well, I’ve got some good international experience and my weight’s really good.
“I’m chomping at the bit, I feel good and obviously I haven’t sat on a horse since I’ve been here which is close to a month now.
“But that won’t be a problem and now seems the perfect time to give it a go, I have good experience behind me but I’m still quite young also.
“I’m under no illusions in how competitive this place is, it’s a very good pool of jockeys to compete against and I’m managing my expectations, but at the same time I want to give it my all – you have to be confident in your own abilities.
“If I came in here with no confidence, I may as well not bother, I’m definitely coming in with managed expectations, but at the same time I’m confident in my abilities.”
Bentley is looking forward to riding at Sha Tin
Bentley, 28, will have his first ride aboard Telecom Missile in the six-furlong opener for trainer Dennis Yip, before partnering two for Douglas Whyte and one apiece for Frankie Lor, Michael Chang and Tony Cruz.
He is a six-times champion jockey in Qatar, but counts rides in France, Germany, Canada, America and Dubai on his CV.
He said: “I started going away to the Middle East when I was only 18 years old and I’ve been abroad every single year since I started riding for the last 11 seasons.
“I’ve ridden a lot in Dubai and Qatar, but also all around the Middle East in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
“I had a great time in Qatar and I do think my experience from there will stand me in good stead because it’s quite a small oval track which is only around a mile around, it’s not quite as tight as Happy Valley, but it’s a tight track where it’s very pace and speed dependent.
“You have to be very positive from the stalls and I think that’ll give me a bit of an edge rather than having only arrived with experience from the United Kingdom.”
He added: “I spoke at length with Ryan Moore, I’ve known him for a while through riding and I was apprentice to his father Gary and the reason I was first ever able to go to Dubai was because Ryan helped me get over there.”
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