Latest news with #CharmSpirit
South China Morning Post
05-07-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Zac Purton blasts past last season's tally with another magnificent Sha Tin four-timer
Magnifique and Zac Purton (white and red) win at Sha Tin on Saturday. Photos: Kenneth Chan Zac Purton breezed past last season's tally with another four-timer headlined by the gutsy win of Magnifique in the Class Three Chow Silver Plate (1,200m) at Sha Tin on Saturday night. The 42-year-old moved past the 130-winner mark and then onto 132 victories following the success of David Hall's promising three-year-old, but there was a sour footnote with the Charm Spirit galloper found to have bled post-race. Magnifique pulled hard throughout the race after settling midfield and made rapid ground to find the lead 200m from home, looking set to win by multiple lengths. That was not the case, however, as he leaned right in the closing stages and found just enough to fend off Righteous Arion by a neck. Nice talent! Magnifique extends his record to three wins from his first four starts for David Hall as @zpurton makes it a four-timer at Sha Tin... 🙌#SummerSeries | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) July 5, 2025 The winning margin does not do his win justice, but a lengthy spell on the sidelines is now likely as he is nursed back to health. 'He came up very comfortable, [Zac] had plenty of horse and was going to go right over them and win like the good horse he is, but the reason he slowed down was because he bled,' said Hall. 'He's one of those highly strung sprinting horses – he's always a bit on edge so normally he's the type of horse it happens to.' 'It's a bit unfortunate and puts a dampener on the win, of course, but he'll have a long break and we probably won't see him again until November. It's just unfortunate as he's a horse with a lot of potential.' HK Racing News Get updates direct to your inbox Sign up Best Bets Racing News By registering you agree to our T&Cs & Privacy Policy Error: Please enter a valid email. The email address is already in use. Please login to subscribe. Error, please try again later. THANK YOU You are one the list. That was the fourth leg of another brilliant winning day for Purton, who also scooped the Class Four Wong Cup (1,200m) for Hall with $2.2 favourite Mr Energia. Mr Energia makes it look easy! David Hall's galloper cruises to a third win this season under @zpurton today... #SummerSeries | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) July 5, 2025 Purton sat wide throughout the race but was always handy and made ground sharply on the turn for home, soon taking the lead and quickening up smartly to win one and three-quarter lengths. After seconds in two of the next three races, Purton was quickly back in the winners' enclosure when the Tony Cruz-trained Igor Stravinsky surged down the outside to claim the Class Four Stevenson Cup (1,200m). Purton was always niggling away at the Irish import and the pair looked in trouble as the leaders quickened up, but the champion jockey got a brilliant tune out of his mount in the final 200m for a cosy success. And things got even better just one race later when $2.2 favourite Fortune Boy fended off a late challenge from Forever Folks to win the Class Four Ip Jug (1,800m). On fire again, @zpurton! 🔥 David Hayes' Fortune Boy sneaks in as favourite to give the eight-time champion jockey a three-timer at Sha Tin... #SummerSeries | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) July 5, 2025 Purton was always travelling kindly in midfield and made his move at the 300m pole, making rapid ground in the middle of the track to overhaul the early pacemakers. Favourite backers would have had a brief moment of panic as Forever Folks closed quickly, but Purton had enough up his sleeve to scramble in by a head. 'It's been good, all the horses have run well. It's nice to have a reasonable day towards the end of the season,' said Purton. It could have easily been a five-timer for the Australian, but he was denied that honour when $1.7 favourite Patch Of Stars was beaten in the concluding Class Three Chairmen's Day Handicap (1,400m) by Cruz's Beauty Crescent. The hot favourite was planted in midfield and still had plenty to do as the field turned for home. Although Purton closed with menace, he never looked likely to stretch clear and was ultimately collared late by Beauty Crescent.
New Paper
19-06-2025
- Sport
- New Paper
Choi's Platinum Boss is all set to turn to gold
With 12 races beckoning on June 22, racegoers would like nothing better than to get off to a flying start. Rhett Butler in Race 1 and Tangesh in Race 2 could be worth some thought early in the day, split between the two Class 5 divisions over 1,150m. Both gallopers tossed in decent training gallops on the morning of June 18. The Nick Selvan-trained Rhett Butler loosened up with a spot of cantering before turning on the after-burners to run the final 600m in 39sec. The three-time winner is plying his trade in lowly Class 5B, but his win over the Ipoh 1,400m on May 11 was noteworthy. He came from third at the 400m mark to win despite drifting out over the concluding stages. While the 1,150m does appear to be on the short side for the Charm Spirit four-year-old, he is not out of it. At his debut on April 29, 2023 when he was under the care of Donna Logan at Kranji, he blitzed his rivals in a race over the 1,100m. Rhett Butler can sprint. Come June 22, he could make the board - at a price. Still wary because it is a tricky Class 5 race? Well, just remember what his namesake said in the movie, Gone With The Wind. "With enough courage, you can do without a reputation." As for Tangesh, he settled for some serious cantering and should be good to go in the Class 5A event. The Deep Field six-year-old's last-start second to Joyee Go on May 25 was sound but he was still beaten by four lengths. It was the second time in his last three outings that the Charles Leck-trained three-time winner had to play second fiddle, having found one to beat in Loving Babe in a race on April 20. Tangesh deserves a winning break and the thing going for him is the fact that he knows what it is like to win a race, and his form figures look good. Going back to March 16 they read: 1-2-4-2. To help him along, Tangesh will get the riding services of leading jockey Andre da Silva, which is a big plus. But perhaps the one with the best shot at getting a win on June 22 is Platinum Boss. Entered in Race 6, a Class 3 (1,400m), the son of Rageese was in a galloping mood when sent out for his work on June 18. One of a handful to go fast on the day, he clocked 37.5sec for the 600m. From a small team of five for the upcoming meeting, Platinum Boss could be the ace in trainer Ricky Choi's poker hand. Owned by the Platinum Racing Stable, Platinum Boss has yet to open his Malaysian account in three starts, but he does know a thing or two about winning races. Until being flown out to join Choi's stables at Sungai Besi, Platinum Boss was quite a hit in Macau where he won four races, all over 1,200m. Now a six-year-old, he will be having his fourth Malaysian outing on June 22 and it comes in the wake of his last-start third to Sacred Buddy in the Penang Turf Club Memorial Trophy (1,100m) on May 31. Given the fact that this New Zealand-bred knows how to win, his breakthrough performance on Malaysian turf could come sooner rather than later. Then, and again from the training track, there was Elliot Ness. Another one from Selvan's yard, he had a breezy workout, cantering to loosen up before running the 600m in 39sec. The Written Tycoon seven-year-old's Malaysian campaign has so far been rather lukewarm. But he is hardly what one would call a washout. Until being sent over when racing folded in Singapore last Oct 5, Elliot Ness won four races over the sharp sprints. Until just a race ago on May 25, he had been taking on Class 3 opposition. Down in grade, he will get his chance in the Class 4A race (1,200m) slated as Race 8 on June 22. But he will have to jump from an outside gate (15) which will surely test him. Still, he deserves a second look and, maybe, a vote of confidence. brian@
South China Morning Post
16-02-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Exciting duo Magnifique and Horsepower maintain unbeaten records at Sha Tin
David Hall and Frankie Lor Fu-chuen have plenty of reasons to be excited about the future after Magnifique and Horsepower extended their perfect records at Sha Tin on Sunday. Fresh from a strong debut victory down the straight last month, Hall's Magnifique handled the rise to 1,200m with ease under Brenton Avdulla in the first section of the Class Four Daisy Handicap. Lor's Horsepower joined Magnifique with a two-from-two record, returning from a mishap before the start of his scheduled second run in November to score down the 1,000m straight in the Class Three Osmanthus Handicap. Magnifique's unblemished record includes three wins from as many trials and Hall is bullish about the Charm Spirit three-year-old's future in Hong Kong. 'He's still learning his craft, but he's definitely got the potential there,' the veteran handler said after Magnifique cruised to victory by a length and a half. 'Obviously they're all still learning in their second start and he was still a little bit keen mid-race. 'Brenton sat there a little bit longer because he knew was sort of overworking a little bit, but when they came to him he said he was just waiting for them. He found what he had to and he's probably got a little bit more there, I would hope.' After doing some early work to cross from gate 11 and stalk pacesetter Everyone's Gallop, Magnifique surged to the lead despite being kept under a strong hold by Avdulla. When the Australian rider let him loose, Magnifique sprinted powerfully to comfortably account for Lucky Symphony and Dragon Four Seas. Hall is confident Magnifique, who also overcame top weight of 135 pounds on Sunday, will handle the rise to Class Three level on his next start. He was the first leg of a running double for Avdulla, who won the following race on the John Size-trained Magnificent Nine. Avdulla's afternoon was soured when he was suspended for one meeting for careless riding aboard beaten Size-trained favourite Bundle Award in the last race. Horsepower's victory was a reward for the patience of Lor and the owners, headlined by Jockey Club chairman Michael Lee Tze-hau, after he was scratched just moments before a Happy Valley race when he was found to be lame. 'Last time behind the gates, Zac Purton scratched the horse so we needed to find out what's going on,' Lor said. 'The next day we checked the horse, we did the bone scan for him, but we couldn't see anything. Then we went back to work and he started [favouring] his left front a little bit. The vet helped a lot to make sure which part had a problem. 'His fetlock had a little bit of a problem so they just medicated his fetlock and he was sound. In the morning he is too strong, he is really hard to control and he needs to relax more.' Horsepower stormed home from near last to salute on his first Sha Tin start, beating Aurora Patch by three-quarters of a length under Matthew Chadwick. Purton had booted home the son of Harry Angel at the Valley in October.
