As expected, Zac Purton and Joao Moreira are battling it out for the premiership of Hong Kong jockeys. Last year, Moreira was on fire and won it with 157 winners to Purton's 125. Purton had won the previous three seasons in a row and in the last eight complete seasons of Hong Kong racing, they each have four titles to their names.
This year, after 54 cards of racing, Purton has 90 winners to Joao's 85. But, as close as the race has been, there have been times when it wasn't so close.
Purton was injured in a spill during the Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Spring on Dec. 12. He did not win another race until Jan.13, 2022. Then, in February, Moreira was handed a six-card suspension that enabled Purton to make up ground – and then some.
Purton's 90 wins have come from 373 mounts for a stellar win percentage of 24.13%. Moreira, even with missing most of February, has had 415 mounts and his win percentage is 20.48%. Only Karis Teetan of the remaining riders has a double-digit win percentage – 11.1%.
Purton's 90 winners average $8.74 for each win while Moreira's average $6.86. Purton's 90 winners have paid $787.00 for a ROI of $2.11. Moreira's 85 winners have paid $583.40 for a ROI of $1.41.
John Size is the leading trainer through 54 cards with 56 winners. Moreira has ridden 25 of them but Purton only seven. Purton's main source of winners comes from Francis Lui, with 16 together. Moreira has 14 winners with Frankie Lor. Moreira has nine winners from the Caspar Fownes barn but Purton has not had a single winner with last year's champion trainer.
Purton and Moreira have an identical 40 winners each on the Sha Tin turf course. Purton does not have a winner on the Sha Tin all-weather track and Moreira has three. At Happy Valley, Purton dominates with 50 winners to Moreira's 42.
Purton rides much heavier than Moreira and it limits his selection of mounts. All 90 of his winners came with at least 120 pounds. Moreira has 22 winners where he carried less than 120 pounds. It's a big factor in handicap racing, but somehow Purton is able to overcome it. In fact, 117 of the 509 races run in the first 54 cards saw the winner carry less than 120 pounds. That's over 23% of the total races won by horses carrying weight that Purton cannot make.
So, with all the handicap racing, you would think that Moreira would have the built-in advantage and yet, Purton is the more-than-worthy adversary. When I print my form guide, each race usually takes two pages. The first page has the higher-rated and, thus, higher-weighted horses. Page two usually has the lower-rated and, thus, lower-weighted horses. I can't think of many races this season where Purton had a mount, let alone a winner, on page two.
Long story short – Zac is having a good year. But he is only five ahead of Joao. With Joao's ability to ride lightly-weighted horses, this race should come down to the wire.
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