The 2024/25 champion trainer John Size is famous among local media for his reluctance to do interviews, particularly if they are aimed at getting him to talk about himself and not his horses.
The 2024/25 champion jockey Zac Purton is by contrast, famously outspoken, highly quotable and has never been shy at firing a public shot at his rival riders via the media.
So it was refreshing to see a different Size and Purton at last Friday’s Hong Kong Jockey Club Champion Awards, where both showed a side of their personalities rarely seen in public.
First it was Size, who while being interviewed alongside fellow Australian Racing Hall of Fame trainer David Hayes, produced some witty one-liners in response to questions from host Andrew Le Jeune.
Le Jeune joked that he might go and sit down as Size and Hayes took over like a comedy duo.
It started with Hayes declaring his compatriot the “GOAT”, the much-used acronym in American sport that stands for greatest of all time.
“I truly think of all the trainers I have trained against in all my life, John is the one that I think is the best,” Hayes said.
But just before things got a little too earnest, Hayes, who will finish second to Size in the championship for the fourth time in his career this season, loosened the mood: “Look, he is 71, and I would love to announce his retirement. It’s a great time to step out and leave me here next year.”
Size played along beautifully: “Well, the reason he wants to make a point of me being the best is so that if he happens to beat me, he has beaten the best. It’s fairly obvious where he is going with that.”
The banter continued from Hayes: “You have been in 24 years, you have won it 12 times, what were you doing for the other 12 years?”
Size answered: “We all have a convenient excuse why you can’t back up the following year, because the horses are too highly rated.”
“Blah blah blah,” Hayes playfully interjected.
“I did win three in a row to start with and then I won four in a row,” Size said. “So I wasn’t always fobbing off doing nothing,” to which Hayes replied. “Well, hopefully you have another gap year next year.”
Purton’s speech upon receiving the trophy for his eighth jockeys’ championship struck a more reflective tone as he started by acknowledging the preceding playful banter between the two training legends.
“I feel like this is going to be a let down,” Purton said.”I don’t know how I am going to maintain the humor in the room after those two.”
Purton at first focussed on the improvements the Jockey Club have made in the medical care and support provided to riders over the past decade.
“At my age things get a little bit harder,” the 42-year-old said as he went to great lengths to mention doctors, professors and support staff by name but perhaps most touching was Purton mentioning his rivals with such grace in a tremendous display of sportsmanship.
“I want to thank all of my colleagues that pushed me week-in, week-out, day-in and day-out, to improve. I can’t be the jockey I am without you guys pushing me to be as good as I can be,” he said with more than a hint of emotion in his voice. “I have enjoyed the time I have spent in the room with you guys on the track and they are memories I will have forever.”
The last line of Purton’s speech will hang in the air for a while yet.
“If this is the last time I get to stand up here, I just want to say thank you to everyone and I appreciate the support.” ∎
