Born on 12 July 1957, Ricky was a contemporary of Tony Cruz in the first- ever class at the Beas River Apprentice's School in the early 1970s, although he did not enjoy anything like Cruz's success in the saddle. For Yiu it was very hard work, with winning opportunities few and far between. From 1974 to 1981 he only rode 15 winners. He continued as a work rider before becoming an assistant trainer,

and it was in the stables as an organiser that his future training talents began to emerge. First granted a trainer's licence in 1995/96, he has now trained 367 winners up to the end of 2008/09 season. He has been particularly associated with sprinters. In 1999 he enjoyed an especially memorable moment when Fairy King Prawn won the inaugural Hong Kong Sprint at the International Race Meeting. More recently he has trained the sprinting sensation Sacred Kingdom, winner of the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint and the Chairman's Prize in 2007/08, and the KrisFlyer International Sprint in Singapore last June, all of them Group One events.