Purton Draws Closer To Record

Trainer Frankie Lor hoping for UAE invite after back-to-back wins for Sword Point

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Packing Angel has emerged as a potential Four-Year-Old Classic Series contender, after the gelding's victory in the HK$1.86 million (S$328,000) Class 3 Broadwood Handicap (1,400m) at Sha Tin on Jan 5 shunted Zac Purton to within eight wins of equalling Douglas Whyte's Hong Kong record of 1,813 wins.

Trained by Francis Lui and rated 63, Packing Angel ($10 on the Singapore tote) handled the rise in grade to Class 3 with aplomb, edging clear of Kaholo Angel to win by ¾ length, impressing Purton.

"He's got a long way to go on ratings, but he's a young horse on the way up. He's improving all the time and it was a pretty soft win in the end. There's a bit more there," said Purton, after sealing a double and taking his Hong Kong career tally to 1,805 wins.

"Two wins is always a good result, but a couple of things didn't quite go right in races - I had a few people taking me on, making it hard but that's Hong Kong."

The HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1,600m) is run at Sha Tin on Jan 31 and is followed by the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Cup (1,800m) on March 2 and the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) on March 23.

The Frankie Lor-trained Sword Point ($10) survived an objection before being declared the winner of the HK$3.12 million Class 2 Pak Tam Chung Handicap (1,650m, dirt) and will now be considered for an overseas campaign.