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Zac Purton reached a milestone with his 1100th Hong Kong win at Sha Tin at the weekend and the champion jockey is hoping to add to his tally from a full book of rides at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (11 March).
The Australian's haul from 13 and a half seasons in Hong Kong puts him second on the all-time list, 713 short of the legendary Douglas Whyte's incredible all-time tally.
Purton, 37, has a more immediate challenge to wrestle with though – attempting to win the championship for a third year in succession. He sits second in the premiership, seven behind his great rival Joao Moreira, and is hoping Be Ready can assist the chase when he lines up at the Valley for the first time in the Class 3 Johnston Handicap (1200m).
"Be Ready's got a short sprint and the straight at Sha Tin is just testing for him, so with that in mind, the hope is that the shorter straight at Happy Valley is more suitable," Purton said of the Frankie Lor-trained gelding.
The four-year-old is zero from five in Hong Kong, having made the top three in all seven of his starts in Australia, including four wins. But Be Ready showed last time out that he could well have what it takes to improve his Hong Kong record.
That most recent effort saw Be Ready finish a solid third to the well-regarded Wellington over 1200m at Sha Tin.
"He came out of a strong race last time and if he can take that form to the Valley and get a nice run he should be competitive. The winner out of that race looks pretty smart, so the form seems strong," Purton said.
Moreira's faith in Dor Dor
Purton and Moreira each rode a double at the weekend but it could have been very different if the latter's six second-placed finishers had gone just one spot better.
"I only look back on the good things and I had two winners so I was happy with that," Moreira said, but added, "Obviously, I would have loved to have gone one better in those races that I ran second but I'm quite happy and satisfied, and hopefully we can just keep picking up winners here and there."
There is a long way to go until the season ends on 15 July and Moreira knows that he faces a battle to the finish if he is to regain the title from Purton. Among his eight chances on Wednesday, he is hopeful that the John Size-trained Dor Dor can continue his consistent form and nail a third win for the term at the city venue in the Class 4 Thomson Handicap (1650m).
"Compared to last season, he has improved a lot," the three-time Hong Kong champion said. "Last season he hit the bar a couple of times and wasn't able to deliver but this time around he's been more reliable, he's been consistent and if he's able to produce his best – because he was quite unlucky last time – I'd say his chance is quite high."
Dor Dor found every door closed in the home straight when seventh over the course and distance late last month, with that evening's jockey Alexis Badel holding plenty of rein as his mount passed the post on heels, seemingly with plenty still to give.
That effort came under a burden of 132lb off a rating of 58 and Dor Dor finds himself off the same rating, with 1lb more to carry, and will break from gate 3.
"He carried that weight last time so I have faith in him being able to carry the weight, and he's not up or down in class so he's in the same spot as he was last time. His last performance was really good and I hope he does the same," Moreira said.
The eight-race action starts at 7.15pm with the Class 5 Wan Chai Gap Handicap (1650m).
The night concludes at 10.50pm with a competitive Class 3 contest, the Queensway Handicap (1800m), in which World Famous will carry top-weight, having placed seventh to Golden Sixty in the Hong Kong Classic Cup last time, while Naboo Star will attempt to notch a third win from his last four starts off the back of an eye-catching recent barrier trial.
