It has been a challenging season for Alfred Chan Ka-hei, but the likeable apprentice finally has a reason to smile after securing a breakthrough victory for his new boss Caspar Fownes at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.

After struggling with suspensions and a lack of opportunities, the 26-year-old was transferred from Frankie Lor Fu-chuen to the three-time champion trainer in January.

The move has resulted in some better rides but after some near misses, everything finally came together in the second section of the Class Four Lancashire Handicap (1,200m) with stable transfer Land Power.

Chan gave the heavily-backed five-year-old a nice steer, slotting into the box seat from barrier one before putting his nose on the line just before the fast-finishing Inno Legend.

The result was a huge relief for the seven-pound claimer, who pumped his fist when the photo-finish went his way.

“Since I’ve moved to Caspar I’ve had six seconds and a couple of thirds, so it’s a great feeling to get my first win for the boss,” Chan said.

“He’s a very nice man and if you work hard, he will pay you back. He doesn’t just use the top jockeys, he will give opportunities to the other riders as well.

“It’s great to learn from another trainer, not everyone trains the same. Caspar always tells me that when I’m on the horse out there, I need to learn something. You can’t just go out there and muck around. So I just listen to him and take something out of every race and try to improve.”

The numbers so far this term are not pretty – coming into the meeting he had one win (Golfman Star on December 6) and 18 placings from 121 starts as well as five careless riding bans – but Chan has the self-awareness to know he needs to keep getting better if he’s going to remain a fixture in Hong Kong.

“This season has been tough, very tough,” he said. “I’ve been working hard to try to improve myself. Every time I go out there I want to show the people that I’m improving.

“I’m just trying to get as many rides as possible and get better results – that’s what we’re all hoping for.”

Caspar Fownes empowers Alfred Chan in a bid to regain lost confidence

Fownes was delighted for his apprentice and hopes it can provide a spark for the last third of the season.

“It’s wonderful to see Alfie get his first winner for me – he gave him a perfect ride,” the trainer said.

“I’m very happy for the boy, it’s more about him getting the result and hopefully people will start to give him some opportunities now and he can start to get a few better rides.

“People will realise he’s improving, he’s been working hard since he’s been with me and it was nice to get a soft draw today. It was a 10-out-of-10 ride. He’s got his focus, he’s been working hard – I’m proud of him. Hopefully we can get some more winners.”

Fownes has a terrific record when it comes to getting stable transfers to perform first-up – he also did it with Serious Liason at Sha Tin on Saturday – and they could play a crucial role in deciding the championship.

“I just hope it can continue,” said Fownes, who also tasted success with Kurpany and now has 53 winners for the season, two in front of John Size. “You need a bit of luck – if we drew wide there it was all over, so you need a bit of luck in this game. All I can do is present them as best as I can.

“He’s a very limited horse – he’s only moderate – but if they win one race, you’ve done your job.”

Meanwhile, Hong Kong racing’s lone Irishman Neil Callan celebrated St Patrick’s Day in style, guiding the Tony Cruz-trained Nuremberg to victory in the opening event of the night.

Frenchman Alexis Badel and Matthew Chadwick shared the riding honours after notching a double each, the former with Ever Laugh and Bundle Of Delight and the latter with Harmony And Rich and Right Honourable.