Trainer Benno Yung Tin-pang reckons Zac Purton weaves some sort of magic with Class Four winner Winnam but the rider himself wasn't taking any of the credit after the workmanlike six-year-old gave him the second leg of a double yesterday.
"Winnam is like a lot of horses in Hong Kong - they just need everything to go their way in a race for them to win," the Australian rider said. "And that's exactly what he got today."
Yung said that Purton, who is the only jockey to win on Winnam since his arrival, had found the key to getting the best out of his quirky gelding.
"He can't be pushed or put too close in a race, and he doesn't have a very long sprint," Yung said of the winner of two from 22.
"And he only seems to race well for Zac. He shows some patience on him - he is the only one who knows him well."
Purton, however, said it was simply a case of getting a race run to suit after he swooped off a solid tempo for a three-quarter-length victory. "On paper it looked as though there was no speed, but when the standby runner King Of Reason got a run, it helped our cause," he said. "The last couple of runs have suggested he was in good form and he just needed the cards to fall his way."
Purton's first winner of the day was on Richard Gibson's three-year-old Joyful Moments, who broke through as favourite at his fifth career start after a string of second placings. "The writing has been on the wall for him, but he also got all the breaks," Purton said after the Private Purchase Griffin notched a comfortable two length victory. "He is still immature and there are better things ahead for him."
Gibson said the post-race celebrations were muted, noting that last-placed Beyond Fantasy had collapsed and died following the race held in hot and humid conditions. "Our thoughts are with the connections of Beyond Fantasy," Gibson said. "We were racing in very tough conditions there today and it's always terrible to see a competitor not return to his stable. It's not a time to be celebrating when you see a rival go down like that."
