Zac Purton closes in Douglas Whyte’s record with six wins at Happy Valley

by Leo Schlink

Zac Purton continued a relentless quest for Hong Kong racing history with a record-equalling six-timer at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (26 December), closing to within just 16 wins of Douglas Whyte’s towering mark.

Purton took his Hong Kong career tally to 1,797 wins – and ever closer to Whyte’s colossal haul of 1,813 – with victories on Super Charizzard, Noisy Boy, Northern Fire Ball, View Of The World, The Azure and Aurora Lady.

His haul matched Australian compatriot Brett Prebble’s record of six winners from 10 rides at Happy Valley in a single meeting, set in June, 2010.

“I had some good barriers, they helped horses that could take advantage of that and they were in good form – so, a good night,” Purton said. “I’ll worry about the record when I get there. In the meantime, I’ll just concentrate on riding winners.

“It’s been a good night. All the horses have run well. That’s all you can ask for – I’ll just keep chipping away.”

Purton tightened his grip on an eighth Hong Kong jockeys’ championship by boosting his 2024/25 tally to 57 to lead Hugh Bowman (26) and Vincent Ho (21) after 32 of 88 scheduled meetings.

He won the Class 5 Mercury Handicap (1200m) for Mark Newnham on Super Charizzard, shared a treble with Dennis Yip on Noisy Boy in the Class 3 Mars Handicap (2200m), Northern Fire Ball in the first section of the Class 4 Jupiter Handicap (1200m) and View Of The World in the second section of the Class 4 Jupiter Handicap (1200m), before winning on Frankie Lor’s The Azure in the third section of the Saturn Handicap (1650m) and Pierre Ng’s Aurora Lady in the Class 3 Uranus Handicap (1200m).

Runner-up in the G2 Tulloch Stakes (2000m) in Australia for Todd Howlett before export to Hong Kong, Noisy Boy had been unplaced in his first two runs for Yip but collected a PP Bonus of HK$1.5 million as well as HK$1.148 million in prizemoney and will be set for the Four-Year-Old Classic Series.

“The horse did that very well, it was a big step up,” said Yip, who trained Massive Sovereign to victory in last season’s BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m). “I like him a lot. Early in the season, Zac trialled him and he did it all very easily.

“He’s a bit one-paced, so today everything was suitable for him and it worked it well. I’ll chat with Zac to see where he should go next but we’ll definitely target the four-year-old series.”

Yip slotted his first three-timer since 16 December, 2018.

“I’m very happy, it’s been a good night and I’m delighted,” the 2012/13 Hong Kong champion trainer said.

Whyte ended a frustrating run of minor placings when King Eccellente stormed late under Harry Bentley to win the Class 4 Venus Handicap (1000m).

“He’s been a victim of circumstances with some terrible draws and he’s had to go back or run wide and there have been excuses – I was tired of it and I think the horse was tired of it as well,” Whyte said.

“I put him over 1000m where I knew he would be out-paced but he’s got a long, sustained run and the race played his way tonight. Harry knows the horse well and when he gets on the bridle like that, he tracks in well and if he’s got horses to chase, he does it well.”

Jamie Richards-trained To Infinity posted his fifth course and distance victory with success in the second section of the Class 4 Saturn Handicap (1650m) under Alexis Badel while Embraces finished powerfully under Jerry Chau to win the first section of the Class 4 Saturn Handicap (1650m) for Cody Mo.

Chau added to his treble at Sha Tin last Sunday (22 December) with a double after snaring the Class 3 Neptune Handicap (1650m) for Mo atop Romantic Laos.

Hong Kong racing continues at Sha Tin on Sunday (29 December).