Matthew Chadwick has landed the first winner of his Queensland working holiday, striking at the Gold Coast while fellow Hong Kong-based jockey Jimmy Orman prepares for three Brisbane meetings before the new season.
Chadwick partnered Over Spray to victory in a Class 1 handicap over 1,100 meters on Saturday, recording his second winner of the calendar year.
After settling in second, Over Spray engaged in a prolonged battle with Ciphertext, ridden by apprentice Olivia Kendal, before prevailing narrowly.
The victory came at Chadwick’s second Queensland meeting of the Hong Kong off-season after both his mounts at the Gold Coast the previous Saturday finished unplaced.
It provided an early reward for a jockey who has returned to the place where his career began in 2008 after one of his most difficult Hong Kong seasons.
Chadwick rode 12 winners during the 2025-26 campaign, but only one came after Christmas. He told Racing Queensland before beginning his month-long stay that results were secondary to recovering mentally and reconnecting with racing.
“I want to refresh my mind and get back to the roots of the racing and just reconnect on a personal level,” Chadwick said.
“I want to get back to the love of horse racing and riding. It’s a hard mental game over there.
“I haven’t had a season in my career like this one before. This is my first full season where I’ve been genuinely disappointed and frustrated.
“Everything you could think of that you don’t want to happen, has happened.
“It’s just the pressure of Hong Kong, you are under the magnifying glass, it can really make you or break you, you sink or swim.”
The Gold Coast, by contrast, has offered Chadwick the lower-pressure environment he was looking for.
“It’s always a treasure hunt. It’s non-stop. It’s a lot less pressure here. You can just feel it in the air. So, it’s really nice.
“It is just refreshing seeing people enjoying the work and being very hands-on with the horses and enjoying the work.
“In this environment and climate, it brings back old memories.”
Orman, meanwhile, is taking a more fitness-focused approach to his own off-season riding stint.
The three-time Brisbane premiership winner will compete at Eagle Farm on August 8 and 12 before riding at Doomben on August 15, having received permission from the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Orman rode 32 winners during his first full Hong Kong season, finishing equal 10th in the standings and surpassing his target of 30.
“The last time I came back to Australia, there was a six-week break, and I was a little bit heavy when I went back to Hong Kong,” Orman told Punters.com.au.
“This time, I want to be at my absolute best for the first Hong Kong meeting back.
“I’m not used to having six weeks off, so I’m keen to ride at a few Queensland meetings, keep fit and keep my weight down.
“It will be good to ride for some of the trainers I used to ride for in Brisbane.”