Eager to build momentum after missing two meetings recently, Zac Purton reasserted his dominance over the Hong Kong jockey ranks ahead of the LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (7 December) with a treble at Sha Tin on Sunday (4 December).
Purton will chase a fourth LONGINES IJC crown next week against a cluster of elite jockeys, including Ryan Moore, Hollie Doyle, Jamie Kah, James McDonald, Yuga Kawada, Tom Marquand, Matthew Chadwick, Mickael Barzalona, Vincent Ho, Silvestre de Sousa and Hugh Bowman.
Boosting his seasonal tally to 54 and extending his margin in the Hong Kong jockeys’ championship to 32 over nearest pursuer Ho (22), Purton searched for rhythm and winners at Sha Tin – and found both – after missing two meetings recently because of COVID-19.
“It’s just good to be back. I want to get some rhythm and consistency back. I had to miss a couple of meetings and was just out of my physical routine – going to the physio, doing the things I normally do, and I wanted to get some normality back into my programme to just get rolling again.
“I’ve got to turn it up again, if I can.”
Slotting a treble in successive races on Benno Yung-trained Handsome Twelve, Pierre Ng’s Marado and Peter Ho’s Amazing Victory, Purton will bid to add another LONGINES IJC trophy to those he secured in 2017, 2020 and 2021.