One card, ten races, two winning jockeys: Zac Purton and Harry Bentley dominate

Champion jockey Zac Purton rode seven of the ten winners at Sha Tin on Sunday, with British expatriate Harry Bentley the only other jockey to ride a winner on the day.

Purton guided Yes We Can, Fiery Diamond, Sunny Baby, Beauty Eternal, Handsome Twelve, Man Star and Erimo to success, with his number of winners on a single card bettered only by Joao Moreira’s eight wins from 11 races in March 2017.

It was the first time Purton had ridden seven winners at one meeting, his horses collecting £405,213 in prize-money. The rider has landed six winners on a card four times and, despite his successes on Sunday, he felt his day could have been even better.

“It was nice, all the horses ran well. I had a couple there that let me down a little, but you can’t be too picky – it’s been a good day,” Purton said. “Seven wins is good.

“It’s nice that the trainers and the owners are supporting me. I had a couple of nice horses today but you still need the right barriers, the track bias, the tempo – all of those things – in your favour and you need the horses to turn up on the day.

“It’s not easy, but I suppose when it comes together, it certainly feels good.”

Harry Bentley: rode a treble at Sha Tin

The Australian, who has been champion rider in Hong Kong five times, is well on course for a sixth title, with his old adversary Moreira sidelined for three months while undergoing treatment for a hip injury. Purton’s seven-timer rocketed him to 21 wins for the season, with his closest pursuer, Vincent Ho, on nine.

Purton’s exploits overshadowed what would have been an especially notable day for Harry Bentley, who rode his first treble in taking out the three races not won by his fellow rider, including the feature Class 1 handicap on Majestic Star for trainer Danny Shum.

“Majestic Star is obviously a very good quality horse. He took me into the race extremely well and once I pressed the button, he picked up really nicely for me,” Bentley said.

“It’s a good milestone to get my first treble here in Hong Kong and to do it here at Sha Tin, and in some really good quality races, is fantastic. Danny has been fantastic and I really appreciate that he stood by me.

"It’s good to get some winners on the board, it’s good for the confidence.”

Read this next . . .

'The buzz was there' – Bryony Frost makes winning return after six months out

Catch our in-depth review of the weekend's racing every Monday in the Racing Post. With big-race analysis from Classic-winning jockey George Baker, Chris Cook's take on the weekend action, eyecatchers from the Raceform team, weekly awards and much more, it is not to be missed.