Hong Kong raiders depart for Korea and Ho?s happy to join them

Glorious Artist and Ugly Warrior departed Sha Tin this morning, Thursday, 29 August, bound for Seoul and the Korea Autumn Racing Carnival on Sunday, 8 September.

Vincent Ho, back home after a successful summer stint in Britain, which yielded six wins, will ride the Hong Kong raiders. The Frankie Lor-trained Glorious Artist is set for the KOR G1 Korea Cup (1800m) and Me Tsui’s Ugly Warrior is destined for the KOR G1 Korea Sprint (1200m).

Ho partnered Glorious Artist in a 1200m dirt track barrier trial at Sha Tin on Tuesday (27 August) morning and was pleased with the Zoffany five-year-old.

“He jumped very nicely and travelled gently, and when I asked him to pick up he found the room and did it nicely,” the jockey said after the gelding had dashed home ahead of the rest.

Ho has a record three wins from six rides on Ugly Warrior but Tuesday’s barrier trial was his first sit on Glorious Artist. The fact that he picked up the latter ride owes a lot to the former’s handler being on the ball.

“It was a surprise to get both rides,” Ho said. “I was in the UK when Mr. Tsui called me and asked me to ride Ugly Warrior in Korea, which is on the same day as the second Sha Tin meeting. I said definitely, because I don't know what rides I might have on that day, and he reminded me that Glorious Artist was also going to Korea with Ugly Warrior: I rang Mr. Lor and after a day he told me I was ok to ride his horse too, so it was great!”

Hong Kong’s Super Jockey won the inaugural running of the Korea Sprint in 2016, while the Tsui-trained Fight Hero was a close second in the race last year. Japan-trained horses have taken all three editions of the Korea Cup but no Japanese runners have been invited to participate in this year’s feature. spent six seasons doing the hard yards, riding primarily for lower-tiered local trainers and without consistent backing from the powerhouse yards.

Purton saw off Moreira in an enthralling tussle to take the 2017/18 premiership. The Brazilian left for an ultimately aborted sojourn in Japan and the circumstances of his three months late arrival to last season’s fray and his retainer with the John Size stable undoubtedly helped Purton’s cause. The reigning champ stormed to 168 wins, just two shy of Moreira’s all-time record, with his rival 78 wins adrift in second.

Moreira reaped Group 1 wins for Size last term on Beat The Clock, and no doubt strengthened ties with the champion trainer and his ownership base, but the arrangement also limited his options: if Size had a horse entered in a race, Moreira had to ride it or sit it out. That leash is now removed: Moreira is free to pick and choose.

“It’s unfortunate for me that Joao can ride a lot lighter than I can, which stacks the chips heavily in his favour,” Purton said.

With Karis Teetan and Vincent Ho backing up off personal best campaigns and big-name arrivals in the former Sydney champion Blake Shinn and the precocious two-time South African champion Lyle Hewitson, the field has plenty of talent.

“We’ve got two new riders who are coming with reputations and are in good form,” Purton observed. “We’ve got guys who have done well last season, Karis and Vincent, there’s no doubt that they’re going to get support again, so it’s probably a bit of a sliding doors moment. Jockeys are going to get their opportunities; I just hope I’ve built up enough of a support base over my time here and that I continue to get that support and crack on and do what I’ve been doing.”

Whyte connection

Purton has eight rides on Sunday’s 10-race card. Moreira is the only jockey with a full book of 10.  

“The start of every season is always a little bit wishy-washy,” Purton said. “Some trainers don't prepare their horses to get going early, some trainers do and I don't ride too much for the trainers that really get cracking early. I’ve been a notoriously slow starter in the past and that’s been frustrating but it’s just a reflection of the stables that I ride for.”

Purton has one ride - Easy Go Easy Win - on the weekend for a past rival and Hong Kong’s newest trainer, Whyte.

“It looks like Douglas has a number of horses that are well-rated and he’s got a lot of horses that have come in and are yet to race, and they’re probably a little while off,” he said.

“I’m not quite sure who are going to be his go-to jockeys, he seems to have every jockey on the roster there riding work for him, so I don't think he knows himself at the moment, I suppose he’ll just play it as it comes along and whoever gels with him and seems to have the luck with him, I’m sure he’ll just roll with them, whether that’s me or someone else, we’ll just have to wait to see.

“I’ve got a number of stables that I ride for,” he continued, “so I’m not relying on one yard. I think that as we get into the season, that should help me.”

Purton last term set a new record for Group 1 wins in Hong Kong, thanks largely to the incredible exploits of his most famous partner, Horse of the Year Beauty Generation.

“The big races and the horses at the top end of town are the ones that I enjoy riding,” he said. “I had a great year last year in the Group 1 races, I’ve had a good run in all the Group 1 races for a long time now, so I’m just hoping that continues and we can continue to break records and set new benchmarks.”