The transformation of Vincent Ho Chak-yiu from an also-ran into a genuine world-class rider can be pinpointed back to the summer of 2018.

At that stage, Ho was coming off campaigns of 18 wins (in 2016-17, 15th in the championship) and 24 (in 2017-18, 12th) and was basically treading water – earning a good living but a non-factor in any of the major races. He didn’t have a Group One ride in either of those seasons.

Even though Ho was Hong Kong’s champion apprentice in 2010-11, his career had stalled.

Derek Leung Ka-chun was the pin-up Chinese jockey at the time – he won the Tony Cruz Award in both of those terms as the leading local – and Ho, while competent, was just another guy.

Not satisfied with that, Ho approached Ryan Moore during one Hong Kong International Races and asked for his help.

Moore was supportive and put him in touch with trainer Mark Johnston, who said he could make the trip to Britain and ride out for him during the Hong Kong off-season.

Ho was 28 at the time and it is a decision – combined with his determination to keep improving – that changed his life.

He only had five rides during that stint but one was a winner (X Rated) and Ho came back to Hong Kong a different person, going on to collect a career-best 56 winners in 2018-19. Three of them on a young horse called Golden Sixty.

Vincent Ho makes Champions Day his own to put finishing touches on dream run

“Mr Johnston is super easy-going and gives jockeys the confidence to trust themselves,” Ho told the Post. “This is the main thing that made me improve so much.”

Ho returned to England in the off-season again, snaring six wins from 22 starts, including a victory during the Shergar Cup meeting at Ascot. He went on to claim 67 victories in 2019-20, including a sweep of the Classic Series with Golden Sixty and his first Group One with Southern Legend.

Every time the bar has been raised, Ho has managed to clear it. In December, he claimed the Hong Kong Mile and on Sunday at Sha Tin he became the first home-grown jockey to ride two Group One winners in a day.

While Golden Sixty extended his winning streak to 14, it is the QE II Cup win on Japanese raider Loves Only You that means the most going forward.

Ho was trusted with the ride by star trainer Yoshito Yahagi and delivered on the biggest stage. It can only open more doors for him.

Circumstances might have helped – he probably doesn’t get the opportunity without Covid-19 restricting travel – but the results speak for themselves. His transition to an elite jockey is complete.

He is a role model for the next generation of locals hoping to make a name for themselves in the sport. A testament to what can be achieved when hard work and perseverance are combined with talent.

Sunday’s landmark occasion is certainly one to be celebrated but Ho remains as humble and hungry as ever.

Golden Sixty gives fans a few anxious moments before extending winning streak to 14

“When opportunities come, you just have to be ready. All these years of hard work is for these days. When it comes, you grab it,” he said. “Once you’re on a horse, you’ve got to be confident, you’ve got to trust yourself and trust the horse. And of course success gives you more confidence.”

Ho retains a global view of the sport and while he has established himself as a star in his homeland, he wants to keep broadening his horizons.

“To be a world-class jockey you have to have experience and riding overseas definitely helps. Riding in France, the UK, when I was a kid I rode in Australia and New Zealand. Now I go to the UK in the off-season [when I can] and I’d love to go to Japan as well,” said Ho, who is currently fourth in the championship race with 48 winners.

“The [Japan Racing Association] rule is to be first three in your country and win at least two Group Ones. I’ve got the Group Ones but getting in the first three is tough, but hopefully one day.”

While any travel plans look unlikely this off-season, Ho is hopeful that he and Golden Sixty can try their luck overseas sometime in 2021-22.

“I would like to see him [compete in one of] Dubai, Japan or Royal Ascot. We’ll see,” he said. “He’s in that class for sure. The times he runs, he is at that level.”

When it comes to discussing the storylines from Champions Day, Ho’s performance was the stand-out.

Danon Smash was disappointing in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize but it was good to see the next generation of speedsters – Wellington, Computer Patch and Sky Field are all four-year-olds – stand up.

Richard Gibson’s Wellington delivers on potential to land Chairman’s Sprint Prize

The Japanese were as dominant as expected in the QE II Cup, providing another reminder that Hong Kong’s 2,000m horses aren’t good enough at the moment.

Golden Sixty must enjoy giving his fans a fright – he only does what is required – but the way he responded when More Than This loomed up beside him shows he has a lot of fight in him.

When you think about the three winners – an up-and-coming sprinter, Hong Kong’s best horse and a Japanese globetrotter – the Jockey Club couldn’t ask for much more given the circumstances.

But the unprecedented success of its star pupil on one of its marquee days is far more significant in the broader scheme of things.