Zac Purton scored a dazzling five-timer at Happy Valley on Wednesday, aiding his tilt at a fourth Hong Kong champion jockey title.
Purton blitzed a hat-trick of wins through the first three of nine contests, met with frustration in races four, five and six, but charged through the final third of the card with two more scores, capped by a victory of some aplomb aboard the New Zealand-bred Dances With Dragon (NZ) (Savabeel) in the finale.
That all propelled him to a four-win lead in what continues to be a relentless two-way tussle with Joao Moreira for the premiership crown.
“It’s been a bit of a grind, so hopefully I’ve now got a few more like this ahead of me,” Purton said after sealing his first five-win haul of the campaign.
Purton kept his cool on Dances With Dragon, who was a winner of the Gr.1 Levin Classic (1600m) when racing as Hall of Fame, as he searched for a clear run and then unleashed a decisive turn of foot to win the Class 2 Camellia Handicap (1650m).
“It wasn’t as cool as it probably looked,” Purton said. “It was a messy race with quite a bit going on.
“I had to get off the fence down the back because the horse in front couldn’t hold a spot and was going nowhere.
“I had to come out around on the corner and then back in and through them. We were lucky to get the run we got but the horse did a good job, he was up to the task.”
A son of Savabeel, Dances with Dragon sold out of Lyndhurst Farm’s 2015 Ready To Run draft for $230,000.
