The G3 Bauhinia Sprint Trophy has long been a proving ground for straight-track specialists, and Zac Purton believes Colourful King is arriving at exactly the right moment to test himself at the level.
Fresh from a dominant Class 2 victory, the David Eustace-trained gelding steps into Group Three company after posting a career-best performance that owed as much to judgment as it did ability.
“Each race is different – it depends how much speed there might be – and you can ride accordingly,” Purton said. “I think he’s better ridden more patiently than positively.”
That patience was on full display last start when Purton deliberately went back to find the outside rail – the fastest ground on the Sha Tin straight.
“I thought there was plenty of speed and a chance to get to the outside fence,” he said. “I thought there were only two genuine chances in that race, so it was just a case of making sure the slow ones didn’t get in my way.”
The move carried risk, something former champion jockey Shane Dye highlighted after the win when describing Purton’s ride as a textbook example of a great jockey’s willingness to gamble.
“Great jockeys aren’t afraid to lose,” Dye wrote. “Zac wasn’t scared to lose. He gambled, backed his judgment and won the race with the ride, not the horse.”
Colourful King rises nine points to a mark of 98 and carries 124 pounds on Sunday. Notably, the five horses weighted above him are all winless this season – a key factor in Purton’s assessment.
“He fits the right profile for the race,” Purton said. “In a G3, it’s often the horses with a handicap advantage you look for. It’s not easy to give weight away, especially to horses with points in hand.”
The Bauhinia Sprint also holds personal significance for Purton, recalling Little Bridge’s victory in the race in 2012 under top weight – a win that launched a Royal Ascot campaign and a famous King’s Stand Stakes triumph.
“He won with top weight and that’s what stamped his passport to go to Royal Ascot,” Purton said.
Drawn four, Colourful King again faces a challenge to reach the favoured outside strip.
“The draw is not ideal,” Purton said. “They’ll go a reasonable gallop, but the best ground is on the outside rail. He’s going to need luck again.”
