Zac Purton's Hong Kong Sprint win on Aerovelocity was the high point of a day when he came close to snatching a career grand slam of four international day majors and finished with a sting in the tail as stewards slammed the Australian with consecutive careless riding suspensions in the final two races.

Purton, who won the Hong Kong Mile on Ambitious Dragon in 2012 and the Vase on Dominant 12 months ago, won the Sprint on Aerovelocity to leave the Hong Kong Cup as the only international he had not won, with a great chance to complete the set on Military Attack.

History will show Military Attack was beaten a short head by his former stablemate Designs On Rome, with Purton's arch-rival Joao Moreira aboard - leaving Gerald Mosse as the only jockey to have won all four international day events.

"Anytime you win a Group One you've had a good day," Purton said, who was also fourth in the Hong Kong Mile on World Ace and went without a ride in the Vase. "Obviously, I would have loved to have won on Military Attack, but it wasn't to be."

After the agonising Cup defeat even more pain was inflicted on Purton by stewards following the final two races of the day.

Purton was given a three-day ban for his aggressive riding aboard Star Track in a Class Two, after he was deemed to have moved off his line to shove odds-on favourite and eventual runner-up Packing Pins into a pocket with 350m to go.

In the following race, Purton was found to have shifted out on Packing Llaregyb on the point of the turn and caused interference to Umberto Rispoli on Santa Fe Sun.