Hong Kong racing tips: Jim McGrath has three selections at Happy Valley on Wednesday

Hoss
1.15 Happy Valley
2pts win

Seasons Wit
1.45 Happy Valley
2pts win

Storm Legend
2.15 Happy Valley
2pts win

Zac Purton is expected to continue his trailblazing feats by becoming the fastest to 100 winners in a season at Happy Valley on Wednesday, and don’t be surprised if he rings up at least a treble from his excellent full book of nine rides.

Last Sunday belonged to Vincent Ho and Golden Sixty at Sha Tin but five-time champion Purton fired in three winners and went home with high hopes of winning next month’s Derby with the exciting Beauty Eternal, who is a solid favourite with those betting on the Classic.

Purton is sitting on 99 wins from 399 rides and one more success would see him take over from Joao Moreira as quickest to chalk up the ton. The Magic Man brought up a century from 413 rides during the 2016-17 season, a remarkable feat anywhere but even more so in such a competitive environment.

One of Purton’s best mounts today is the Jamie Richards-trained Hoss, who will be hard to beat in the Class 4 6f handicap (1.15) despite a 6lb rise in the handicap for a gutsy win last start when Purton was aboard for the first time.

Hoss is a four-year-old gelded son of Melbourne Cup winner Fiorente, yet his four runs to date have been over 6f. His running style hints at the prospect of something better to come when he is stretched out over a longer trip — his victory came after he had only two behind him in the early stages.

Purton will be alert having drawn wide but a win here or in any of his five previous rides on the card would not only see him as the fastest to a century but also maintain a strike-rate near 25 per cent for the season, which is exceptional. Victory Scholars, with Angus Chung claiming, is the likely danger.

Purton and Richards combine with the most interesting runner on the card, the newcomer Seasons Wit, who is selected to take the Class 3 5f handicap (1.45) on his Hong Kong debut, something that most find difficult to achieve.

Seasons Wit was trained by Anthony and Sam Freedman and was never out of the first three in five starts in Australia, though he had to be shipped to Adelaide from Melbourne to break his duck. On his work and trials, he has settled in well and looks primed for this.

Purton dominates the card but for a little value, the Caspar Fownes-trained Storm Legend can go well in the 1m½f handicap (2.15). His third-placed effort last time was a cracker and he can pose a real threat to likely favourite Casa Cosmo.

Happy Valley Placepot

12.15
7 Management Folks
8 Reach Goal

12.45
1 Righteous Arion
6 Joy Coming

1.15
2 Hoss
3 Victory Scholars

1.45
2 California Deeply
9 Seasons Wit

2.15
7 Casa Cosmo
12 Storm Legend

2.50
3 Majestic Knight
9 Howdeepisyourlove

2x2x2x2x2x2 = 64 lines

Bets can be placed into HK pools with the Tote. The first race at Happy Valley on Wednesday is at 10.45am.

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