Fresh from Ka Ying Rising’s stunning triumph in the G1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m) on Sunday (19 January), David Hayes hopes Sight Happy can propel Zac Purton closer towards Hong Kong history at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (22 January).

Purton, 42, needs only two more wins to overtake Douglas Whyte’s tally of 1,813 Hong Kong victories and takes seven rides at Happy Valley tomorrow night – John Size-trained Spirit Of Peace and Beauty Alliance, Firefoot for Chris So, Aestheticism for Pierre Ng, David Eustace’s Riding Together, View Of The World for Dennis Yip and Sight Happy for Hayes.

Hayes, who has provided 10 of Purton’s 72 winners this season, including five with record-breaking sprint star Ka Ying Rising, is optimistic Sight Happy can snare his second victory this campaign when he contests the Class 4 Kowloon Park Handicap (1200m) from barrier two.

“Zac can hopefully settle midfield and, with a bit of luck, he can put his run up,” Hayes said. “He’s had some bad barriers but the last couple of runs, he’s been able to show what he’s capable of. He’s a healthy little horse and very sound, so hopefully he’ll keep putting the runs up.”

Purton believes another solid book of rides has the potential to deliver the record tomorrow night.

“We’ll see how we go, Happy Valley is always a little bit tricky. You need to get the right run and a few things go your way, but I’ve only got two (wins) to go now, so nearly there,” the seven-time Hong Kong champion said.

“View Of The World won nicely last time, but he drew the right gate (one), had a soft run behind the leaders and skipped home against an average field, so he had all the favours but I like the way he did it and he gets around the Valley nicely, so I’m hoping he can go on with it.”

With a Sha Tin double last Sunday leaving Purton with 1,812 wins, the Australian is spearing towards an eighth Hong Kong championship with 72 wins for the season – 39 clear of Hugh Bowman (33) – after 39 of 88 scheduled meetings.

Whyte’s 1,813 Hong Kong winners came from 12,269 mounts with 1,241 at Sha Tin and 572 at Happy Valley with an overall winning strike rate of 14.78%. Purton’s 1,812 winners have come from 10,351 rides with 1,125 at Sha Tin and 687 at Happy Valley with an overall winning strike rate of 17.5%.

Champion sprinter Lucky Sweynesse continued his comeback from an injury with a 1000m turf trial at Sha Tin this morning (Tuesday, 21 January), finishing second of eight runners, as he heads towards the HK$5.35 million G2 Sprint Cup (1200m) on 30 March.

Ridden by Matthew Poon, the four-time Group 1 winner finished a length and a half behind California Touch, who clocked 58.62s.

Mark Newnham confirmed Ramadan, who ran 14th in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m), would miss the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) on 31 January after the five-time winner in France finished sixth over 1600m behind Moments in Time.

“He’s not quite there yet and that’s what I expected it. He hasn’t had the ideal preparation, probably since he left France. He went from France to England to Hong Kong, quick preparation into the international race and since then, he had time in quarantine, so he’s only been in our system a short while,” he said.

“I’ve ridden in him in a couple of gallops and his fitness isn’t there yet and he’s probably still making adjustments to the firmer ground here. He wouldn’t be ready to run in the Classic Mile, so he won’t go there. I’ll just run him when he’s ready.”

Currently fourth in the Hong Kong trainers’ championship with 24 wins behind Danny Shum (28), Pierre Ng (27) and Hayes (25), Newnham hopes to gain starts in the first leg of the HK$52 million Four-Year-Old Classic Series with My Wish and Talents Ambition, who runs in a Class 3 1650m race on the dirt at Sha Tin this Sunday (26 January).

Wednesday night’s (22 January) nine-race Happy Valley card starts with the Class 5 Shan Kwong Road Park Handicap (1000m) at 6.40pm.