Badel had accrued 11 points and sat in joint-tenth place at the halfway stage in the two-day challenge, 39 points behind Sydney-based competition leader Rachel King (50 points). However, with a maximum of 60 points still up for grabs on Sunday, Badel will be hoping to capitalise aboard his second-day mounts Beyond The Scene and Festes Band.

Japan's Yutake Take ended the day in second place with 31 points, while Italian Umberto Rispoli and Japan's Mirai Iwata ranked joint-third with 21 points apiece.

Badel was out of the frame finishing 12th in the first leg but nicked ten points in leg two by running in fifth atop Climbing Lily. Brazilian representative Joao Moreira ranked joint-12th after the first two legs with three points.

Badel said prior to the event: "It's an honour and a big pleasure to be part of the JRA challenge. I'm very excited and I'll try my very best to represent Hong Kong in a good way.

"It's a great opportunity and I am very proud to represent Hong Kong. To me, it's a great achievement to participate in this challenge."

The World All-Star Jockeys series also features a team component. Japan's Team JRA led at the midpoint with 122 points versus the 102 points of Team World All-Star.