Watching top-class athletes at the peak of their powers is a privilege and in Hong Kong over the weekend, we witnessed two of the city’s finest at their very best with Zac Purton’s astonishing seven-timer at Sha Tin on Sunday (9 October) and snooker champion Marco Fu’s incredible performance at the Hong Kong Masters.
At 39, Zac is riding as well as ever and his performance to post wins on Yes We Can, Fiery Diamond, Sunny Baby, Beauty Eternal, Handsome Twelve, Man Star and Erimo has collectively been bettered by only Joao Moreira, who rode eight winners from 10 mounts in 2017.
As Zac mentioned, riding one winner in Hong Kong is difficult, let alone seven in 10 races at a single meeting. With a career 1,452 victories at a strike rate of 16.6 percent in Hong Kong, Zac sits behind only record-breaking Douglas Whyte (1,813) for the most wins by a jockey in Hong Kong.
It is rare that a jockey riding a treble in Hong Kong would expect to be upstaged but that was the fate which befell Harry Bentley on Sunday when the young Englishman celebrated his best day in the saddle here as trainer Benno Yung also posted a three-timer.
It is easy to often overlook the physical, mental and emotional challenges faced by athletes such as Zac and Harry to maintain elite performances – as Marco Fu could himself attest.
Marco’s performance to reach the final of the Hong Kong Masters at Hong Kong Coliseum in front of a record crowd of almost 9,000 spectators was simply incredible after undergoing eye surgery in 2017 before spending almost two years off the tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a proud supporter of the city’s sport development and the nurturing of our talents and the Hong Kong Masters 2022 was a key element of the Club’s sponsorship for the celebration of the founding of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Marco’s effort to advance to the final, where he was beaten 6-4 by seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, was remarkable especially because his progress to the championship match included a maximum 147 break in the deciding frame of his semi-final against John Higgins on Saturday.
Marco’s determination to overcome retinal degeneration in his left eye and to return to the elite levels of snooker is testament to his resilience and further evidence of Hong Kong’s ‘can-do spirit”, while the atmosphere inside the Hong Kong Coliseum was amazing.
Ronnie O’Sullivan described the Hong Kong Masters as “probably the best tournament I’ve ever played in. This tournament has just changed snooker. Now there’s a new benchmark.”
The event showed that we in Hong Kong continue to set global standards and it is clear that Ronnie was extremely impressed with his experience.
“(Hong Kong) has shown what you can do with an event. If you have good promoters who make local people aware it’s on, you can see the number of people who love snooker,” he said. “The (Hong Kong Billiard Sports Control Council) have had a massive involvement, and (also) the Hong Kong Jockey Club.”
With LONGINES Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) rapidly approaching, I look forward to witnessing a similar level of excitement among our local fans and members as well as the overseas owners, trainers, jockeys and racing fans we hope to welcome back.
At Happy Valley on Wednesday night, the fourth race on the card is the Class 2 Man Yiu Handicap over 1650 metres.
The dynamic of the race has changed dramatically with the withdrawal of the natural leader Telecom Fighters. Four of the six remaining runners contested the event over the same course and distance on 21 September when Zac Purton gave a master class in front-running riding on Telecom Fighters, setting leisurely sectionals through the first half of the race before kicking clear and just holding on to win.
Zac, fresh from his magnificent seven wins at Sha Tin Sunday, reunites with Savaquin here, having ridden him four times before for a win, and three placings all over the course and distance and I make him a win and place chance. Savaquin has had an extended break at Conghua and makes his seasonal reappearance.
The task of setting the pace in a race that is likely to be run at a moderate speed now rests with Everyone’s Delight. Alexis Badel has won from the front on him previously at Happy Valley and he should hold the lead from his rails draw. Everyone’s Delight will also have benefitted from being at Conghua since his last start and is a place chance.
The remaining four runners all ran together on 21 September.
Jumbo Fortune raced keenly at the back of the field off the moderate tempo that night before diving to the rails in the straight to run fourth beaten a half-length behind the winner. Matthew Chadwick takes the ride and with his light weight (120lb) Jumbo Fortune will again be all out to win the HK $2million PP (Private Purchase) bonus on offer and is a place chance.
Berlin Tango beat only one runner home in the Telecom Fighters’ race but with Silvestre de Sousa aboard tonight for Tony Cruz and a good run from his draw can be in the finish and is a place chance in a race where every runner will have support.
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