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Five-star Purton Dances into premiership lead; German racing set to resume at Hanover

Five-star Purton Dances into premiership lead

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 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.

German racing set to resume at Hanover

Racing in Germany will restart at Hanover after being given clearance from authorities.

The sport has been on hold since March because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Deutscher Galopp had planned to restart the action on Monday at Dortmund, with no spectators and strict hygiene measures in place.

That meeting had to be cancelled as the necessary approvals were not given, but Deutscher Galopp president Michael Vesper has reported everything to be in place for racing to resume at Hanover on Thursday.

"We are relieved and grateful to authorities such as the racing club that people in racing companies can now go back to work," Vesper said.

"Many thanks to the Hannoversche Rennverein and the responsible authorities who have made this possible.

"The races, which have not been carried out since March 15 due to the corona pandemic, will be resumed in Hanover on Thursday, May 7, in strict compliance with the association's hygiene and clearance concept, which the authorities have deemed appropriate."

There are 12 races including two Listed events, scheduled for the meeting.

Last season's premier trainer and winner of the 2014 Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) with Protectionist, Andreas Wohler has multiple runners at the meeting.

Racing is expected to resume in France next week.