Purton back with a bang as Lor and Size trade blows at Sha Tin

It might have been a Saturday meeting but normal service resumed all the same at Sha Tin, with Zac Purton returning from his Australian hit-and-run mission and a suspension with a fabulous four-timer.

If the Group One wins of Artorius and Communist at Randwick last Saturday did not completely remove the sour taste left by Purton’s two-meeting suspension, the victories of Run Run Cool, Circuit Stellar, Red Lion and Golden Express seemed to complete the job.

“It’s been a good day,” Purton said after moving to 105 wins for the campaign. “It’s nice to have four winners. I thought I had some handy rides today. It’s been a little bit frustrating but I’ve still had a few winners, so it’s OK.”

While the Tony Cruz-trained Circuit Stellar led throughout to land the afternoon’s most lucrative race – the Class Two Lung Kong Handicap (1,400m) – in fine style, the most visually impressive of Purton’s wins came aboard John Size’s Golden Express in the card-closing Class Three Tak Ku Ling Handicap (1,200m).

After travelling forward of midfield on the rail, Golden Express had to wait for an opening in the straight before exploding up the inside of leader Super Fortune and saluting by a length and three-quarters from Wonder Kit.

“He has shown what he is made of today. He just needed a bit of tempo in his races at 1,200m to allow him to use the beautiful action he’s got,” Purton said.

“He’s always travelled like the winner and I just had to navigate the right path and he did what he had to do. He’s a nice horse.”

Golden Express was the second of a Purton-ridden double for Size after the victory of Red Lion a race earlier and the 11-time champion trainer echoed his jockey’s sentiments.

“It was a very good performance. It was a fast-run race, which is probably what he needs for the 1,200m, so he can finish off and show his strength. In the straight he had to look for a run, but eventually it came and he was able to win quite handsomely,” Size said of Golden Express.

While Purton drove the premiership-leading Size to 43 wins for the season, he also helped reigning champion trainer Frankie Lor Fu-chuen close the gap on his former boss with his victory aboard Run Run Cool – the middle peg of Lor’s treble.

The earlier success of Happy Golf and Run Run Buddy’s win saw Lor move to 39 victories for the campaign and ensured he enjoyed his best day at the races this term.

“Last month, I only had three winners. Sometimes it’s like this. I always try hard to win races for the owners. That’s my job. At this moment, I don’t think about the championship, but I’ll try my best,” Lor said after his first treble since May.

Run Run Buddy landed a second consecutive victory, saluting from the outside gate under Derek Leung Ka-chun in the second section of the Class Four Nga Tsin Wai Handicap (1,400m).

“He has a big stride and just keeps rolling. We were a little bit worried about the draw, but I looked at the field and thought not many horses would want to lead, so I told Derek, ‘if he jumps well, you can lead by yourself, and if someone wants to lead, you can sit second or third’,” Lor said.

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