Happy Lucky Dragon Win | Moreira and Purton push the limits

Wednesday night was Hong Kong racing at its best at Happy Valley: tight, combative and tactical, during which the burgeoning rivalry between Zac Purton and Joao Moreira reached a new high watermark, one that carried with it a dangerous edge.

Last season, Purton and 13-time champion jockey Douglas Whyte engaged in an on-track battle that was matched only by their heated war of words off it. But just when the Australian had seemingly slayed his arch-nemesis, along comes the freakishly talented Brazilian.

It is astonishing to watch two jockeys compile records like this. Moreira has ridden three less winners than Douglas Whyte from 98 less rides. Purton has sped to 52 wins from just 33 meetings – it was only in 2011 that he broke 50 for a season for the first time and that was considered a great effort. As these two masters ply their trade, all the while a host of others continue to produce career-best form.

Tye Angland has taken another leap forward, at least in terms of his win total, and it’s not as if Whyte is riding badly. In fact, he might be that bit more desperate as he watches title 14 fade from view. Could there be a better "joker in the pack" than Brett Prebble? He is as tough and street smart as they come, especially around these parts. There is a critical mass of tactical expertise meeting with competitiveness from up to 10 world-class jockeys at a time, which is creating dynamic, edge-of-your-seat racing – particularly at the tight Valley circuit.

Trapped deep down the back as the pace slackened, Moreira made a critical move when he allowed Same World to stride forward and take up the running – and as it turned out the race was all over after that, as he cruised to the line. Same World straightened more than three lengths in front, and Purton was left with too much to do on Rainbow Chic – he ran 22.17 seconds for the final 400m and still only got within three-quarters of a lengths at the finish.

But it may not have even happened without Purton’s hard-nosed competitive instincts forcing Moreira to sit deep around the first bend. A real feature of Hong Kong racing is the awareness of where other jockeys are in races, and who they are on, and what odds they are. Because of the limited horse population, there is an in-depth familiarity with the tendencies of each runner – and of their rider. The top group of jockeys in Hong Kong don’t just ride their own horse in a race, they have an eye on everyone else’s mount and are thinking two or three steps ahead.