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Hong Kong based star Zac Purton has a double chance to add to his excellent record in Randwick Group One races on Saturday.

Purton has won 18 G1 races during his career but only six of them have been recorded in Australia.

It’s fair to say Randwick is Purton’s favourite racecourse in Australia as four of his G1 wins have been recorded on Sydney’s major track.

Randwick also holds a special place in Purton’s career history as it was the venue where he rode his first G1 winner in 2006 aboard Excites in the AJC Sires Produce Stakes for the late Guy Walter.

He has since added wins in the 2008 Epsom Handicap (Theseo), 2014 Doncaster Mile (Sacred Falls) and 2014 George Main Stakes (Sacred Falls) to his G1 record at Randwick.

His only other G1 wins in Australia are the 2008 Chipping Norton Stakes at Warwick Farm on He’s No Pie Eater and last year’s Caulfield Cup on the Japanese stayer Admire Rakti.

The bulk of Purton’s G1 wins have been registered in Hong Kong, his chosen home for the last five years.

Purton has ridden seven G1 winners at Sha Tin since 2010. His other G1 wins have been recorded in Singapore (2), Japan, Macau and England where he won the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2012 on the Hong Kong sprinter Little Bridge.

Purton is heading back to Randwick this weekend aiming for a G1 double on two leading chances in the $1 million Epsom Handicap (1600m) and $750,000 ATC Metropolitan (2400m).

He is booked to ride the high class mare Lucia Valentina for Newcastle trainer Kris Lees in the Epsom and John Thompson’s imported stayer Orbec in the Metropolitan.

Purton takes over as the rider o Lucia Valentina, a G1 winner of last spring’s Turnbull Stakes at Flemington, from Brenton Avdulla.

Avdulla has ridden the mare in two trials and two races since she resumed in August but took the Epsom ride on the Chris Waller-trained Silverball last week under the impression the Newcastle mare would not be a starter.

Lucia Valentina produced a solid Epsom trial when she ran home late for fourth in the G1 George Main Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on September 19 won by Kermadec.

She carried 57kg under the wfa conditions in the George Main and appeals as one of the best weighted horses in the Epsom as she will be carrying only 1.5kg over the limit under the severely compressed weight scale.

Due to the withdrawal of seven highweight horses the handicaps for the Epsom will be raised by 4kg with Hooked to carry the required topweight of 58kg on a 56kg minimum.

Purton replaces Tye Angland as Orbec’s rider in The Metropolitan where weights will also be raised 3kg with last year’s Sydney Cup winner The Offer set to be the 58kg topweight on a 55kg minimum.

Orbec has been a luckless placegetter in the Wyong and Newcastle Cups at his last two starts.

Joao Moreira, Purton’s arch premiership rival in Hong Kong, will be riding in the Epsom and Metropolitan for Godolphin on Saturday after riding Furnaces for the stable in the G1 Moir Stakes at Moonee Valley on Friday night.

Moreira is booked for Malice (Epsom) and Havana Cooler (Metropolitan) on Saturday with stable number one James McDonald aboard Sweynesse and Magic Hurricane in the big double.