Riding those four winners at Shatin at the last race meeting of the Hong Kong season and winning his fifth Hong Kong Jockey Championship was one thing, but just how well Zac Purton has parlayed everything that’s come his way into a winning move is something that should be applauded.
It’s nothing devious or anything that Keyser Soze would have done. It was a one-time rough diamond from Coffs Harbour in Australia moving away from his old stomping grounds on Twitter, changing direction and strategy, looking at his “inventory”, understanding the value of his portfolio and playing to his strengths. It’s been wonderful theatre, and especially true on that last auspicious day of the season, which will come to be seen as a watershed moment in the history of Hong Kong racing. Bet on it.
While making peace with, and, at the same time, forcing his arch racing rival João Moreira into happily playing a co-starring role, the new and improved Zac model also won the plaudits of one-time enemy Douglas Whyte with a gem of a ride for the former champion Hong Kong Jockey and now very successful Trainer.
Though never going to be able to eclipse the great South African’s thirteen consecutive Hong Kong jockey championship titles, one doesn’t think this bothers Zac anymore. He’s won all the big Group races in Hong Kong, and the prize money he’s earned puts him right up there with the biggest money earners in horse racing. At a time when there’s a definite changing of the guard taking place in every aspect of horse racing, Zac is in a position to have the best seat in the house to watch what unfolds next and see where he might fit in- if still deciding to stay in the game. He has ruled out riding overseas and turning to a career as a horse trainer, something which would have been way too easy for him- and seen him follow a pretty hackneyed and predictable narrative from racing scribes. Zac has also made it clear that if the injuries which plagued him last season are under control, he would stay on riding in Hong Kong- at least for the next season. And then what?
Well, there may not be any sand dunes for him and his family to explore on camel in Hong Kong as they have been doing in Dubai during their summer break, but there’s still a six star lifestyle to enjoy including steaks sprinkled with gold. More importantly, and, unlike Australia and Europe, despite its current problems, Hong Kong remains a very comfortable tax shelter. Over the years he’s been a jockey in Hong Kong, Zac Purton has watched, observed and learned from some of the best- wealthy Chinese horse owners with ever-expanding business portfolios, the modus operandi of successful entrepreneurs in Hong Kong, and how the world outside of racing works- and might continue to work. He’s still on a learning curve, he understands the importance of marketing and branding, and at 39, he has plenty of time on his hands.
He’s chilled and is in no rush, especially after everything achieved on that eventful last day of the season past.
Personally, I believe that whatever challenges lie ahead excite him. And being someone not exactly lacking in confidence, he no doubt sees where he can create new opportunities for himself while continuing to enjoy the lifestyle of the rich and the famous with his family.
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