Sagacious Life stakes Classic Mile claim as Purton decision looms

Sagacious Life confirmed his status as pole sitter for the Four-Year-Old Classic Series yesterday, but trainer Pierre Ng faces a nervous wait to see if Zac Purton will be aboard.

The Brazilian import’s top-weight Class 2 victory at Sha Tin did more than lock in a Hong Kong Classic Mile berth – it cemented his position at the head of the queue for the February 1 feature and placed Ng among the trainers vying for Purton’s services in the race.

The 13-time champion jockey has won 33 of Hong Kong’s 34 principal features, but the Classic Mile remains the glaring omission. With Sagacious Life’s rating expected to climb into the high 90s, making him the highest-rated runner heading into the HK$13 million contest, Purton finds himself in demand – but he has options.

“Everyone’s chasing him,” Ng said. “He told me he’s only down to two choices. Well, at least I’ve got a 50-percent chance. He is our number one choice.”

Purton, characteristically, is in no rush.

“A lot of the four-year-olds look good at some stage and then as they get up in the rating they start to struggle,” he said. “You don’t want to make an early call. The next couple of weeks will tell us a little bit more.”

The picture should sharpen this Sunday even if Ng’s hope that Purton has narrowed his choices down to two might be optimistic. The Australian is believed to have first call on Invincible Ibis but will not ride him in the Class 3 1,600-metre for four-year-olds, with Hugh Bowman taking the mount while Purton partners fellow Classic Mile hopeful Beauty Bolt. He also rides Little Paradise for Jimmy Ting Koon-ho in a 1,400m Class 2.

Top Dragon, who was third behind Sagacious Life, and Glittering Legend – yet to debut in Hong Kong and viewed as more of a Derby type – figure in his thinking too. Purton rides Fortune Boy for David Hayes this Sunday. He also trialed Public Attention before its first start but was unable to make the weight for its Hong Kong debut. 

For now, Sagacious Life has made the strongest statement. Purton said the gelding’s performance under 133 pounds marked a significant step.

“He did a really good job. He’s obviously acclimatised pretty quickly and settled in well,” Purton said. “Today he carried top weight and against that quality of opposition he showed he is a bit of a fighter too.

“He’s got two vices – he wants to travel a bit too strong and he’s a bit flat-footed. But all in all, he’s currently the highest-rated horse going into the race. He’s right there at the top of everyone’s list.”

Sagacious Life did everything asked of him to make his record two-from-three and now Ng will follow the Classic Series path.

“Straight to a Classic Mile from here,” he said. “He’s got the rating already. We just tried to give him one more run with as light a pressure as possible and he handled it brilliantly.”

The trainer believes maturity will unlock more.

“When he’s parading, he’s still looking around and a bit toey,” Ng said. “If we get that out of him, I think he’ll be much nicer.”