Zac Purton lauded Manfred Man’s horsemanship after Patch Of Cosmo successfully returned from injury to stake a claim for the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) as Akashvani and Emblazon also showcased Four-Year-Old Classic Series credentials at Sha Tin on Sunday (18 January).

Sidelined since March, 2025 after suffering a tendon injury, Patch Of Cosmo (135lb) eclipsed a classy group of rivals to win by a neck from Aerodynamics (130lb) and Pope Cody (134lb) in 1m 34.53s after jumping from barrier nine.

Rated 77 pre-race, the Super Seth gelding deserves his place in the Hong Kong Classic Mile, according to Purton, who will ride Sagacious life in the first leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series, which also includes the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) on 1 March and the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) on 22 March.

“First of all, it was a really good training performance. This horse has been off from 10 months with a tendon (injury) and he’s come back at the top of Class 3, carrying a lot of weight, first-up at a mile and he’s won,” Purton said. “That’s not easy to do.

“So, they want to take their place in the Four-Year-Old (Classic) Series now and he’s not going to be out of place. He’s a relatively lightly-raced horse, he’s got plenty more there.”

David Hayes was similarly positive about Akashvani (128lb) after an emphatic all-the-way victory in the second section of the Class 3 Fencing Handicap (1400m) under Brenton Avdulla.

Unlucky at his previous start, the 72-rater was well supported before forging clear in the straight after angling away from the fence and winning by three lengths in 1m 21.30s from Super Express (124lb).

“I thought going towards the Classic Mile, it was a very, very good run. I think he’ll get eight or nine points and that will probably get him in the big race,” Hayes said.

“That was his best win in Hong Kong and that was over 1400m and I would say he has a mile written all over him. If you look at his pedigree and racing style, I think if he draws well – he’ll run a good race. 

“He’s very fit and he’s got a nice gap now with two weeks to the race. We’re very excited.”

Emblazon (120lb), made it three wins from six starts for Cody Mo and Chau when the 64-rater overhauled Flash Current (119lb) in the first section of the Class 3 Fencing Handicap (1400m).

Fresh from reaching the 1,000-win milestone in Hong Kong on Wednesday (14 January), Francis Lui posted a running treble with Lucky Twin Stars (133lb) in the second section of the Class 4 Swimming Handicap (1400m) for Jerry Chau, Hot Delight (129lb) in the second section of the Class 4 Cycling Handicap (1200m) under Vincent Ho and Amazing Partners (127lb) in the first section of the Class 4 Swimming Handicap (1400m) for Ho.

Both Lui and Ho were impressed with the effort of Too Darn Hot three-year-old Hot Delight.

“He drew (barrier) 14, so that made things a bit harder but luckily it was the ‘A course’ and even though he was three-wide, we knew he was a nice horse,” Ho said. “He did everything right, so looking forward to the next start and hopefully he can learn more, stay calm and improve.”

Lui said: “He’s a good horse. I like him a lot. The owner (Peter Law), always buys a good horse and he can spend to buy a good one. I wasn’t involved in buying him – I have known Mr Law for a long time and he met me and said ‘do you want to train my horse?’ Of course, I said yes.

“When he came to me, he was very green, but a very strong horse and his barrier trials were good.”

Jamie Richards slotted a double when City Gold Banner (119lb) swept to victory under Zac Purton in the Class 3 15th National Games Hong Kong Medallists Cup Handicap (1000m), clocking 56.83s in defeating fellow Hong Kong debutant The Unique Star (125lb).

Formerly trained by Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou in Australia, the Starspangledbanner gelding was ridden patiently by Purton before extending impressively over the final 400m to earn a PP Bonus of HK$1.5 million.

Richards also struck when three-year-old Cool Boy (135lb) prevailed in the first section of the Class 4 Cycling Handicap (1200m) for James Orman.

“He’s been racing well, I thought it was a good effort considering he had to carry 135lb,” Richards said. “He was aided by a beautiful ride from James, who’s riding really well.”

Dylan Browne McMonagle slotted his first winner in Hong Kong when he piloted John Size-trained Flow Water Flow (134lb) to victory in the Class 4 Triathlon Handicap (1600m).

“Very happy and it’s a great place to be competing. I’ve been very lucky, I’ve been getting on some nice horses in the last few weeks. I’ve been getting plenty of support and massive thanks to John Size. He’s been extra special, he’s been throwing a lot at me and thankfully I can reward him with a winner,” the Irishman said.

“He (Flow Water Flow) had a really good record coming into this race. He’d been hitting the crossbar (with three seconds) in his first three starts. Stepping up to 1600m was going to be a big help to him today and he was good and strong the last 100 metres – thankfully, he got his head in front.”

Dennis Yip and Karis Teetan combined with Super Hong Kong (124lb) to land the Class 5 Rugby Seven Handicap (2000m). Now eight, Super Hong Kong improved his record to six wins from 58 starts and prizemoney of HK$5.64 million.

Maxime Guyon and Me Tsui teamed with Pegas (123lb) in the Class 3 Sailing Handicap (1200m). A son of Encryption, the gelding’s brave triumph delivered a PP Bonus of HK$1.5 million.

Hong Kong racing continues at Sha Tin with an all-dirt meeting on Wednesday night (21 January).