Purton stands alone at Pinnacle in Hong Kong
Aussie ace betters legendary jockey Whyte’s record of 1,813 wins with Happy Valley brace
HONG KONG - In true grandstand fashion, Zac Purton waited till the very last race at Happy Valley on Jan 22 to stand alone as the jockey with the most wins in Hong Kong racing history.
After weeks of counting down the build-up – Purton would ring a bell and swop number blocks down after each winner – towards the long-standing mark of 1,813 wins set by the legendary Douglas Whyte, who retired from race-riding in 2019 following 12,269 Hong Kong rides, the John Size-trained Spirit Of Peace’s win in the third section of the Class 4 Kowloon Park Handicap (1,200m) saw him equal the record.
The seven-time Hong Kong champion jockey had six more rides to sit in rarefied air on his own, but could not quite hit the mark (including two seconds).
Favourite View Of The World in the last race, the second section of the Class 3 Victoria Park Handicap (1,200m), was his last bullet or he would have to put the champagne on ice.
But the Australian was in no mood to celebrate another day. He did not squander the chance provided by the Dennis Yip-trained galloper who powered down the Happy Valley straight to reach the unprecedented milestone of 1,814 wins.
Purton, 42, hails from Lismore, Australia and moved to Hong Kong in 2007, recording his first winner at Happy Valley on Sept 12, 2007 atop Elfhelm. Since then, his storied career has seen him surpass the 100-win mark in a season nine times, including a record 179 in 2022-23 – also giving him a single-season earnings record of HK$277,712,060 (S$48.3 million). His win strike rate over 17 years of competitive riding in Hong Kong is over 17 per cent.
Purton, who has had 10,358 rides across his time in the competitive cauldron of Hong Kong racing and sits high in the pantheon of the sport’s greats, said: “I appreciate everyone hanging around and the support that I get. I get a lot of love here in Hong Kong and I feel that.
“Our fans and supporters are very unique and I’m very fortunate to have them by my side and behind my back supporting me.
“Thank you and thank you to every owner, trainer and person that I know that has supported me throughout my career and not just here in Hong Kong but along the journey of when I started as an apprentice to now.”
Crowned Hong Kong champion jockey in 2013-14, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24, Purton has won the BMW Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) twice with Luger (2015) and Massive Sovereign (2024).
He is the only rider with 12 feature wins at the Longines Hong Kong International Races, most recently snaring a fourth HK$26 million Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m) victory with super talent Ka Ying Rising.
After Gary Moore and Noel Barker, Purton is only the third Australian to win a riding championship in Hong Kong.
Purton’s career began with veteran trainer Trevor Hardy in Coffs Harbour, Australia at the age of 14. His first career win was atop Magic Zap at Armidale in Australia on May 6, 2000, and he was crowned Brisbane champion jockey in 2003 as an apprentice.
In Hong Kong, Purton is famed for associations with standout talent Beauty Generation, Exultant, Aerovelocity, Ambitious Dragon, Southern Legend, Lucky Sweynesse, Military Attack and more. He has won top-level races in Australia, Japan, Singapore and Britain, notably in the 2012 Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes (1,000m) at Royal Ascot on Little Bridge for trainer Danny Shum.
Purton’s first elite-level win in Hong Kong came in the Group 1 2010 Stewards’ Cup (1,600m) aboard Fellowship for former trainer Paul O’Sullivan, while his fierce rivalries with Whyte and Joao Moreira (1,236 Hong Kong wins) captivated global audiences with enthralling championship tussles, and they are the only other jockeys with over 1,000 wins in Hong Kong.
Tony Cruz (946 Hong Kong wins) occupies fourth on the all-time list ahead of Brett Prebble (806), Karis Teetan (709), Gary Moore (694), Basil Marcus (671), Gerald Mosse (659), Felix Coetzee (652), Vincent Ho (609), Olivier Doleuze (571) and Matthew Chadwick (547).
Purton paid tribute to Whyte, who is credited with changing the way jockeys operate in Hong Kong by meticulously planning bookings well in advance as opposed to determining which horse to ride after entries were made public – which contributed to Whyte’s 13 consecutive riding titles from 2000-01 to 2012-13.
“He was the one who wrote the playbook, really. He came to Hong Kong and changed the way jockeys operated here and the landscape and how you had to run your business and we’ve all had to follow on from that and without him setting the standard, things would be different,” said Purton.
“I actually once said to Doug, ‘Don’t worry your record is safe, I won’t be around long enough to break it’. At that time, I thought I was going to retire or go home earlier but I’m still here. I gave him the wrong ‘intel’ about it. We had lunch recently and he’s all right about it.
“Records are made to be broken and mine will be broken one day as well.”
Whyte, who was on hand as Purton logged his 1,813th win, said: “It’s been a long time coming. It was always going to happen and he’s one of the best riders we’ve seen around and he deserves it.
“As I’ve mentioned, he turns up day in and day out and that’s not easy for any sportsman to do. That’s what makes champions and that’s what makes you successful.”
The South African struck with Happy Trio in the first section of the Class 4 Kowloon Park Handicap (1,200m) at odds of 39/1 with Harry Bentley up. HKJC
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