Moreira, Purton battle for leading rider continues at Happy Valley

Suddenly, the competition for leading rider in Hong Kong is very close.

Through March 17, Joao Moreira had a four-race lead on Zac Purton. Two programs later, after Sunday’s Hong Kong Derby card at Sha Tin, Purton had narrowed Moreira’s advantage to one by winning five races at Happy Valley last Wednesday and at Sha Tin on Sunday compared to two wins in those days for Moreira.

Wednesday’s eight-race program at Happy Valley will lead to more changes. Moreira, who has 89 wins for the season, and Purton both have mounts in all the races. The final three races are the most lucrative on the program, with purses of $186,952, and both Moreira and Purton have leading chances.

In the sixth race, a division of the Kong Sin Wan Handicap at six furlongs, Moreira rides 133-pound topweight Dancing Fighter, who has won his last two starts, both in handicaps in six-furlong races at Happy Valley.

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Wednesday’s race is Dancing Fighter’s first start since Dec. 4, when he closed from third to win by 1 1/4 lengths. Purton rides Shouson, who carries 122 pounds, and was a troubled third in a six-furlong handicap at Happy Valley on March 11 when he struck the rail.

Shoushon starts from the rail on Wednesday, which will force Purton to ride a tactical race in the 12-runner field. Dancing Fighter breaks from post 9 and should get a better trip from a stalking position.

In the seventh race, the Po Chang Wan Handicap at about a mile and 50 yards, the edge may be with Moreira’s mount, Cinquante Cinq, a closer who was second in a similar race on Feb. 26 when ridden by Matthew Chadwick. Moreira was aboard Cinquante Cinq for a win in a handicap at about a mile and 50 yards at Happy Valley on Jan. 29.

Cinquante Cinq will carry 130 pounds in the Po Chang Wan Handicap, three less than topweight Gameplayer Times, the winner of the Group 1 Presidente Da Republica at a mile on turf in Brazil last September. Gameplayer Times, trained by Doug Whyte, has finished seventh and sixth in two starts in Hong Kong, encountering trouble in each race.

Purton rides Jolly Honour, who has been third in his last two starts and is also a closer. Jolly Honour will carry 124 pounds.

In the eighth race, a division of the Kong Sin Wan Handicap, Purton rides Beauty Spark, who has been third in his last three starts, all in six-furlong handicaps at Happy Valley.

Beauty Spark will carry 121 pounds, three less than Green Reign, Moreira’s mount. Green Reign closed from 12th in the stretch to finish second by three-quarters of a length in a six-furlong handicap at Happy Valley on March 4, the first-time Moreira had ridden the 4-year-old gelding. Beauty Spark was third in that race.

Both those runners must beat the Whyte-trained Victory Power, who will carry 120 pounds and closed well to be second in a six-furlong handicap at Happy Valley on March 11.