Former two-time champion jockey Shane Ellis, while sympathising with the plight of his colleague Omar Walker who fell last week from his mount while exercising, says he will be trying very hard to achieve another championship belt.

Walker successfully underwent surgery last Friday on his broken wrist and is now back at home recuperating. The doctor who performed the surgery told the Supreme Racing Guide that Walker will definitely not be able to mount up for another six to eight weeks, as the healing process must be completed before the jockey can manipulate the reins once more.

“It is very unfortunate the way Omar (Walker) got injured and will be out for a while. He (Walker) holds a sizeable lead, so I am just going to continue working. Once I keep winning races, then anything can happen.

“As I always tell my fans, they can look forward to Shane Ellis winning as many races as possible. All I have to do is keep winning races, and if it gets to the point where I can beat him (Walker), then I will definitely try to do so,” said the jockey from Purple Island in Westmoreland, while noting that jockeys are constantly faced with the possibility of getting injured.

At present Walker leads the 2017 jockeys’ list with 65 wins. Ellis is second with 45 victories. Wesley Henry (44) and Anthony Thomas (36) complete the top four.

Ellis took a step closer to the title on Monday (Heroes’ Day) when he piloted Happy Lee to victory for trainer Dwight Chen.

Ellis, who earned the top jock accolade in 2000, when riding mostly in Canada and again in 2015, guided Happy Lee to a comfortable two-and-a-half-length win in a Maiden Condition event over four furlongs (800 metres).

The three-year-old bay filly ( Adore the Gold– Miss Lee by Western Classic), running with the tongue tie on and the Figure-8 off, broke well from the number two draw and was held comfortably behind early leader Rohan’s Cattleya (Hakeen Pottinger).

Ellis wasted little time before sending the Trevor Dunkley Snr-owned filly on her way to justify her claim to fame, and she opened up for an easy victory in the end in 47.4 seconds, with a recorded split of 23.1 seconds for the four-furlong event.

She won ahead of Meticulous (Dick Cardenas) and Boronia (Wesley Henry), with Dallas (Andree Powell) completing the frame.

“ Happy Lee made me a happy man. All I needed was just a clean start, and I got that. I broke second but didn’t want to go out too quickly, so I just held her a little bit and then let her go. I was comfortable from there and she quickened up for me,” Ellis said.