As if the Hong Kong racing scene wasn’t already exciting, the head-to-head matchup of João Moreira and Zac Purton is a continuous headline in itself as the star duo trade wins in a race to the top of the Hong Kong Jockey Championship title for 2019-20.
At Sha Tin on Sunday, Brazilian superstar Moreria rode three winners to outscore Purton 3-1 and draw level with the Australian in the championship rankings with just 16 meetings remaining as the season goes down to the line.
Inner Flame gives Moreira a treble to draw level with Purton; Righteous Doctrine moves Chang close to the benchmark, while Ben So scores with Good View Clarico. #HKracing @themorgangrind reports those stories + more.
— HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) May 17, 2020
Read here ? https://t.co/0SGj2sRDH6 pic.twitter.com/IfnByctlyR
Moreira sat two wins behind Purton heading into Sunday night’s meeting but evened the score with a treble, saluting aboard four-year-old Inner Flame.
Speaking to the to local press, Moreira remained a closed-book about claiming this year’s jockey championship.
“Zac can’t say he’s going to be the winner and neither can I because we don’t know what’s going to happen in the next couple of weeks and months,” he said.
Moreira and Purton have claimed the last six jockey championships between them. Should Purton take out this years championship title, it would deliver the Australian expat a coveted three-peat.
Moreria won three consecutive titles from 2015 – 2017.
