He couldn’t deliver aboard Lucky Sweynesse in the Group One Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m) but Zac Purton made the undercard his own with a sparkling six-timer at Sha Tin on Sunday.

While missing the elite-level cream that would have made it one of his very best days in the saddle, the brilliant Purton marched to his biggest haul since his remarkable seven winners in October 2022.

“It’s good – it’s been a bit of a grind through the season so far,” Purton said. “There have been a number of factors behind that but the tracks are becoming a bit more fair at the moment and easier to read.

“Results are more consistent and it’s nice to have a decent day. Hopefully it sets a tone for the second half of the season.”

As with every top rider, the one that got away was possibly occupying Purton’s mind more than any of his winners and he was left ruing a ponderous start from Lucky Sweynesse.

“He just couldn’t get going early and that’s his Achilles’ heel,” Purton said. “Some days he just can’t show any gate speed, which was the case today. Once all the horses got their spot, they just slammed on the brakes and he was back in a bad spot. There is not much you can do about it.”

The logical next option for Lucky Sweynesse is his Group One Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1,400m) defence, and Purton believes the step up in trip could be just what the doctor ordered for the Manfred Man Ka-leung-trained galloper.

“We might be looking for further as he’s becoming slower and slower out of the gates,” Purton said. “Maybe up in trip will help him a bit. He still ran well but lost it at the start.”

Purton six wins came for six different handlers and the rider feels the best horse he rode on the card, aside from Lucky Sweynesse, was Danny Shum Chap-shing’s Gorgeous Win, who won the Class Three Tai Hing Handicap (1,200m).

“His win was pretty good,” Purton said. “It was quite a soft win, so hopefully he can continue on and he might even be able to get a little bit further.”

While Hong Kong’s star rider will not come close to his record-breaking total of 179 wins last season, his victory aboard Ricky Yiu Poon-fai’s Green N White in the finale took him to 61 victories for the campaign.

There was an inevitability about that result when Purton switched Green N White to the outside down the straight, but the rider still had to get busy as the four-year-old picked up his third win in eight starts.

Purton started the day with a bang when Nicholson Returns ran out an easy winner of the Class Four Fu Tai Handicap (2,000m) for David Hall, while Benno Yung Tin-pang was another to benefit from the Australian’s talent when Ace Victory won the first section of the Class Four On Ting Handicap (1,200m).

After a string of near misses for the trainer, Purton teamed up with Tony Cruz for their first win together this season when Beato showed a good turn of foot to take out the Class Four Yan Oi Tong Cup Handicap (1,600m), but the award for his ride of the day was probably reserved for his effort aboard Sweet Encounter, who got up right on the line in the Class Three Yan Tin Handicap (1,400m).