Poon gets chance on Packing: ‘Everybody thought Manfred’s horse was going to run’

Packing Hermod salutes under Zac Purton last month. Photo: Kenneth Chan

Jockey Matthew Poon Ming-fai will get his chance aboard the in-form Packing Hermod in Sunday’s Group Three Premier Cup (1,400m) – something trainer Francis Lui Kin-wai has put down to the absence of the Manfred Man Ka-leung-trained Lucky Sweynesse.

While Packing Hermod will carry 126lb in the Premier Cup, the presence of the 127-rated Lucky Sweynesse would have seen the four-year-old assigned the minimum weight of 115lb.

“Everybody thought Manfred Man’s horse was going to run, so everybody thought the other horses would be carrying a light weight. We picked the jockey early and I think that’s why Zac [Purton] didn’t pick this horse,” said Lui.

It was Purton in the saddle for Packing Hermod’s last-start course-and-distance victory in Class Two, while Joao Moreira did the steering when the son of Rubick saluted in similar style two starts ago.