Zac Purton's Classic Mile conundrum remains after Little Paradise shines in five-timer

Zac Purton arrived at Sha Tin on Sunday hoping the fog around his Classic Mile ride might finally lift – but after steering home five winners, the champion jockey left with more questions than answers.

Purton had first call on seven horses for the opening leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series on February 1, yet strong performances by some key runners  – most notably from his Class 2 winner Little Paradise – only deepened the selection dilemma.

"Its a difficult and tough decision – they are all owned by great owners and trained by trainers I regularly ride for, and they all came to the races and ran well today,” Purton said.

At the forefront of the Classic Mile conversation is Little Paradise, who produced a convincing victory over 1400m to take his record to five wins from eight starts and carrying some serious momentum. 

“He is a lovely horse that was a good, strong race,” Purton said. “We got into a nice spot and got his chance - physically he is a nice horse and he continues to improve and he will continue to improve from here as well.”

Of the seven horses Purton has the option of riding, four competed on Sunday, with only Fortune Boy failing to meet expectations.

“Well, that is one less out of the seven I had to choose from – but the problem I face is that I will choose one and there will be five others there to beat me,” he said. “The odds are against me actually. Whichever way I go, it's not going to be easy."

Another major contender whose connections are keen to secure Purton’s services is Invincible Ibis, who Hugh Bowman guided to victory in the Class 3 mile for four-year-olds.

Displaying toughness to match the undoubted talent he had already shown, Mark Newnham’s galloper unleashed a long sprint from near the tail of the field to edge out Beauty Bolt and deny Purton a sixth winner on the card.
 

Asked whether his horse deserved to be Classic Mile favourite, Newnham was measured.

“Let’s see - Jimmy’s horse (Little Paradise) was impressive today and Sagacious Life was last week as well, but my horse has won four now and he can only keep winning.”

An early commitment to Beauty Bolt meant Purton missed the ride on Invincible Ibis, with Newnham expecting the Australian to make his Classic Mile call on Monday.

Newnham said he “would prefer” the same jockey to stay aboard Invincible Ibis throughout the Classic Series, which continues with the Hong Kong Classic Cup on March 1 and culminates in the BMW Hong Kong Derby on March 23.

Purton’s five-timer lifted him to 59 winners from the first 36 meetings of the season, extending his lead over second-placed Hugh Bowman to 33, but the Australian — chasing a ninth premiership and a fifth straight title – remained characteristically understated.

“It was OK,” he said with a shrug. “Hopefully we can keep it going.”