Purton can keep the winning habit as title race heats up

Little Bird
Sha Tin 7.30
1pt win

Amazing Star
Sha Tin 9.05
1pt win

Win Beauty Win
Sha Tin 10.45
2pts win

Fewer than 200 races remain in the Hong Kong season and the prospect of a prolonged duel for the jockeys' championship tantalises.

It's 101 plays 93 as Joao Moreira bids to fend off the relentless challenge of arch rival Zac Purton and, if you're counting prize-money, HK's dominant duo have trousered ten per cent of around £25m.

Race after race will be billed as duels between the laid-back Brazilian and the spiky Aussie over the next ten weeks but Purton can strike when Win Beauty Win meets Hezthewonforus again in Sha Tin's Stevenson Cup at 10.45.

Hezthewonforus came with a reputation when this pair met over 6f here three weeks ago and shaped like a sure-fire winner in running Win Beauty Win to three-quarters of a length as the pair drew clear in a well-run race.

A 4lb pull gives his followers hope of reversing the form, but Win Beauty Win has the tools to see him off again.

Old schoolers will know the form of that win is working out well. Clockwatchers might add that Win Beauty Win clocked the fastest final 400m of the day on the round course. And both groups might concur that telling turn of foot can prove crucial if things get tight again.

Purton and Moreira have long been regarded as the elite models of the HK showroom but anyone seeking a rider who can pay to follow blindly in the coming weeks could do a lot worse than rely on a shiny new VW.

Victor Wong's 10lb claim paid dividends for the seventh time here on Wednesday and HK's newest apprentice can expect another bold effort when the speedy Amazing Star bids to capitalise on a featherweight in the 9.05.

Super Eighteen gives Wong another fair chance in the 7.30, but early birds can get the worm as the progressive front-runner Little Bird looks perfectly drawn in stall one as he bids to build on a promising second here.

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