Much on the line at Happy Valley on Wednesday

A nine-race program at Happy Valley Racecourse in Hong Kong may determine whether John Size or John Moore emerges as leading trainer for the season and whether leading jockey Zac Purton can break the record for most wins in a single-season.

The 2018-19 season ends at Sha Tin on Sunday. Wednesday’s program is the final day of the season at Happy Valley.

Purton had six wins at Sha Tin on Sunday to give him 164 wins for the season. He is within six wins of equaling Joao Moreira’s record of 170 victories in the season, set in 2016-17.

Purton, Moreira, and Vincent Ho are the only riders with mounts in all nine of the races at Happy Valley on Wednesday. An 11-race program is scheduled at Sha Tin on Sunday.

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Purton, 36, was the leading rider in Hong Kong in the 2013-14 and 2017-18 seasons.

Size has 74 wins this season, one more than Moore. Wednesday, Size has seven runners, while Moore has five.

Size, 64, has won 10 training titles in Hong Kong, including the last two seasons. Moore, 69, has won seven titles and is the all-time leading trainer in Hong Kong with 1,676 wins.

Wednesday, the final race of the program – the $250,044 Sun Jewellery Handicap at six furlongs – will play a role in Purton’s quest for the record and the trainer’s race.

Size starts Tornado Twist, the mount of Moreira and a three-time winner in Hong Kong this season. Tornado Twist, who is winless in his last four starts, won three consecutive races at Sha Tin last winter. Tornado Twist will be a factor from off the pace.

Purton rides Perfect Glory, a two-time winner at Happy Valley this year. A closer, Perfect Glory was eighth in a five-furlong handicap at Happy Valley on June 26, but won his last start at six furlongs at Happy Valley, on May 1.

Moore starts Sunny Boy, a 4-year-old gelding who will have his fourth start in Hong Kong and will be facing his highest level of competition. Sunny Boy won a six-furlong handicap at Sha Tin on May 5, when ridden by Purton, and was second by a head in a six-furlong handicap there on June 16 when ridden by Derek Leung, who has the mount on Wednesday.