Hong Kong: Moreira and Purton battling for riding title down to wire
Joao Moreira and Zac Purton, locked in another battle to be leading rider during the Hong Kong racing season, which ends next month, might be on the right horses in the featured 10th race on Sunday at Sha Tin.
Moreira takes the mount on Master Delight, last seen finishing 11th in the Hong Kong Classic Mile for 4-year-olds on Jan. 30. Purton rides Lucky With You, who was eighth in that race and has run three times since.
Entering the 10-race Sunday program, Moreira had 122 wins this season, five more than Purton. Karis Teetan, third-leading rider, has logged 66 winners.
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Trained by John Size, Master Delight was a 16-1 shot in the Classic Mile, where he was pretty much done in at the post-position draw. Master Delight broke from post 14, leaving Moreira little choice but to drop to the back of the field to avoid being caught very wide around the race’s one turn. Master Delight did make a mid-race move – his 400 meters in 23.53 was the race’s fastest fraction between the 800- and 400-meter marks – but the leaders predictably ran away from him in the homestretch, with Master Delight checking in 11th.
When Master Delight resumed steady training again on March 1, Size had moved him to the Conghua training center on the Chinese mainland, and Master Delight has since kept to a regular pattern. He returned to Sha Tin in late April and Moreira piloted the gelding in two barrier trials, the most recent over the Sha Tin dirt on May 24, when Master Delight was not allowed to do much running. A cut back from 1,600 meters to 1,400 meters Sunday could work well enough, but Master Delight drew poorly again in post 11.
Purton never has ridden the David Hayes-trained Lucky With You, but did beat him in Lucky With You’s last start, a Happy Valley Class 2 handicap over 1,200 meters on May 18. Purton was aboard Keep You Warm, and they got the jump on Lucky With You, who was beaten two lengths while well clear of third over a course that might not suit the gelding as well as Sha Tin. Lucky With You breaks from post 8 and carries 129 pounds, six more than Master Delight.
First post for the card is 12:45 a.m. Eastern with the featured scheduled for 5:50. You can catch all the action at DRFBets.com.