PURTON - THE UNDISPUTED KING OF HONG HONG RACING

By Darren Winningham | Friday, December 6, 2024

Douglas Whyte’s record of 1813 winners in Hong Kong is under siege from Zac Purton who continues to reel in the winners.

Purton is around 30 winners away from claiming the record. He is rapidly closing in on it.

When I spoke to Purton about this, he was a little sheepish saying, “I am getting there, bit by bit, day by day.” Smiling, he then went onto say, “It will happen. It is just a matter of time. It is not something that I am too worried about – I am not focusing on it – I just take every meeting as it comes”.

We then spoke about the possibility of the probably new record being broken once he does hang up the whip and helmet and retires from the saddle.

“I really do not know – they are going to add more race meetings and have more races,” said Purton.

“It may give someone an opportunity one day – some of these guys riding here now are still quite young and if they can hang around for as long as I have, they will give themselves an opportunity and they will probably ride for longer than I will. They are hungry little buggers!”

Purton, who moved moved to Hong Kong in September 2007, boasts a phenomenal record.

His Hong Kong highlights are:

Zac Purton ended Douglas Whyte’s 13-season dominance with his first Hong Kong jockeys’ championship in 2013/14 (112 wins)

During his first championship season, the Australian ace raced to what was then the fastest 50 in Hong Kong history and became the second rider, after Whyte, to notch 100 wins in a season.

He claimed his second title in 2017/18 when he halted Joao Moreira’s title streak at three.

Purton won a second consecutive championship in 2018/19

He won his third consecutive championship in 2019/20 with 147 wins and three Group 1’s, his triumph aboard Exultant in the 2020 QEII Cup saw him become the only rider in history to have won every Group 1 race on the Hong Kong calendar.

He won the title again in 2021/22 for the fourth time and has not been defeated since. Winning again in 2022/23 and 2023/24. Purton closed out a highly successful 2023/24 season, completing the campaign with 130 wins and a seventh Hong Kong Champion Jockey crown.

Purton reached 1,700 career wins in Hong Kong in April 2024

Purton is one of only four jockeys to have won each of the HKIR races in their career.

He does thrive on LONGINES HKIR day every year – he does only have two rides now – but he will have the fire in the belly to get them across the line first.

It is one impressive resume, something that history will honour.

I really do not see this record beaten in my lifetime. Long live the “KING” of Hong Kong racing.

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