Zac Purton hits another milestone as he hits 1,900 with win for his "biggest supporter"

Eight-time champion jockey Zac Purton ticked off yet another milestone at Happy Valley last night as he collected his 1,900th win in the city for his “biggest supporter.”

Purton broke Douglas Whyte’s record of 1,814 wins in January and quickly powered onto his next milestone, reaching 1,900 courtesy of the Danny Shum Chap-shing-trained Talents Supremo.

“It’s a really good number to get to,” Purton said. “Obviously, I can’t do it without the support that I get, and it was nice to do it on one of Danny’s horses as well, because he has been my biggest supporter across my time in Hong Kong.

“I’m very thankful to all the owners and trainers for everything that they have given me, and also The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) for giving me the opportunity to come here and ride as well. I’ll forever be in debt and thankful to them.”

While he was squeezed out at the start and forced to settle in midfield, Purton tracked the strong early pace on the rail and kept on well in the closing stages aboard Talents Supremo to deny the well-backed favorite, Run Run Timing.

After the jockey collected a commemorative bottle of champion from the HKJC’s executive director of racing, Andrew Harding, Purton said he was already looking ahead to 2,000 victories.

“Hopefully in another 100 rides I get to 2,000,” he said with a smile. “It’s possible (to reach 2,000 winners) as long as I stay fit and healthy. 

“There’s no doubt that I can get to it, so hopefully I can get to it as quickly as I can because it’s a very big number to get to. It gives me something to think about and it gives some direction for the next few months of the season.”

The 42-year-old, who was still on a high after Ka Ying Rising’s success in the G1 The Everest at Royal Randwick on Saturday, is already on his way to a ninth jockeys’ championship. He arrived at Happy Valley 21 wins, 13 clear of Hugh Bowman, Karis Teetan and Alexis Badel.

Purton will look for more feature-race success at Sha Tin on Sunday when he hops aboard the Francis Lui Kin-wai-trained Packing Hermod in the G2 Premier Bowl over 1,200 meters.