Zac Purton had as good a start to the new Hong Kong season as he could have hoped for on Sunday with five wins from nine rides that took him from a place of pole position in the jockeys’ premiership into a longish lead with the first turn barely yet visible.
Purton’s five-timer was his best opening day tally and outstripped the four wins he had on the first day last season, from which he then put together a career-best nine wins through the first two fixtures. He’ll need to go some to match that, but without the press of a levelling rival, he might just do it.
But rather than missing the intense attentions of his past foes Douglas Whyte and Joao Moreira, the eight-time Hong Kong champion is relishing the position he has been in since Moreira departed the city almost three years ago.
“When Douglas and Joao were here, I was getting pushed right to my limits, but without them on the roster the last couple of years, I must admit it has been enjoyable,” Purton told Idol Horse.
“There’s a lot pressure been taken off without them here. Whatever you’re feeling, it’s a bit easier than going nose to nose with someone.”
A look at Purton’s numbers through the first 10 meetings of every season he’s ridden in Hong Kong shows that he can be expected to hit double figures with ease. Statistics provided by Hong Kong racing data analyst Sohil Patel show that in two of the last three seasons, without that pressure of a viable title rival vying for the plum rides, Purton has pushed beyond the 20-win mark.
It seems there is no coincidence in his record-breaking 179-win tally being achieved after he bagged a peak 23 wins in the first 10 meetings of the 2022-23 campaign; and last year’s start of 20 wins in that period led to 138 wins, which would undoubtedly have pushed closer to his best haul but for an extended spell on the injured list mid-season.
Yet the Australian ace said he was not taking anything for granted heading into the current campaign, in which much of the focus is already on his partnership with the outstanding sprinter Ka Ying Rising.
“Nothing is ever guaranteed, nothing is ever a given,” he said, emphasising that the riders he competes against in Hong Kong are all skilled jockeys proven at the elite level. “I always have to come back and work as hard as anyone else, try and approach the season with as much hunger as I always have and if I do get off to a good start and get the ball rolling, from there things start to work out.”
That hunger that has had him in the top two for each of the last 14 seasons, he said, is still there: his natural state is to prove he’s the top dog.
“That’s my character, that’s naturally in me,” Purton continued. “The competitor comes out and I want to win every race and do as well as I can. But ultimately every season it comes down to the support you get from the owners and trainers.”
If day one is anything to go by, that support is very much intact. If a rival to his premiership crown is to step forward, he’d better do it soon before Purton is streaking clear towards a ninth title. ∎
