Super Joy N Fun maintained his unblemished record at start two as champion jockey Zac Purton took home riding honours with a treble at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.

Backing up a smart win at the city circuit on debut, Super Joy N Fun enhanced his reputation as a sprinter on the rise with an all-the-way victory in the second section of the Class Four Tsuen Wan Handicap (1,200m).

Jerry Chau Chun-lok continued his outstanding form with a double aboard Benno Yung Tin-pang’s Super Joy N Fun and Samarkand for David Hayes, while Purton raced past 70 wins for the 12th consecutive season after guiding Palace Pal, Raging Blizzard and Beauty Infinity to victory.

Chau has ridden six winners from his past six meetings and will look to extend his form when he rides Chill Chibi in Sunday’s HK$13 million Classic Cup (1,800m) at Sha Tin.

Starting the $2.6 favourite on Wednesday night, Super Joy N Fun jumped straight to the front and proved too slick for his rivals, defeating Lucky Quality by three-quarters of a length.

“He’s a nice horse,” Yung said. “The first half [of the race] he fired up and got keen. Lucky nobody challenged him and that gave him a chance to settle a bit. That was a help.”

Yung is convinced the son of What’s The Story will handle a rise to Class Three company at his next start.

“I don’t think it will be a problem,” he said. “He’s only three years old and has a lot of improvement.”

Benno Yung and Jerry Chau are all smiles after Super Joy N Fun’s latest win.

Chau didn’t panic when held up on the inside rail and searching for runs early in the straight on Samarkand in the Class Four Sheung Shui Handicap (1,650m).

He speared the gelding through a gap between rivals at the 200m to run down Purton’s mount, Sturdy Ruby, by a neck.

Purton hit the milestone of 70 wins this season with a masterclass on Palace Pal in the opening race, the Class Five Sai Kung Handicap (1,800m).

“Seventy is a nice mark, but 100 is better – 100 is the barometer,” the six-time Hong Kong champion jockey said.

“If you get to 100, you’ve had a good season. I need a few more wins – I’m just ticking over.”

Not satisfied sitting off a slow tempo, Purton sent Palace Pal forward in a perfectly timed mid-race move to snatch the lead at the 600m.

He kicked Palace Pal clear and the David Hall-trained gelding was never challenged, scoring by two-and-a-quarter lengths in his first Hong Kong victory at start 25.

Purton then combined with John Size for a double, with Raging Blizzard and Beauty Infinity both justifying odds-on favouritism with dominant wins.

Karis Teetan, Purton’s nearest rival in the jockeys’ premiership, recorded his 50th win this term after a rails-hugging ride aboard June Planet in the Class Three Tsing Yi Handicap (1,650m).

Caspar Fownes was thrilled to see June Planet bounce back from a heart irregularity suffered in a Happy Valley race last October and a luckless last start, when he was severely checked by a riderless horse.

“After his heart irregularity, it’s nice to see him come back and perform like that,” Fownes said.

“I expected him to run well today because his fitness was getting better, he had a good draw, a light weight and he showed us earlier in the season he was going to be competitive in Class Three when he won those two races with [Hugh] Bowman on in Class Four.”

Fownes made it a race-to-race double when Sugar Sugar won the second section of the Class Three Kwai Chung Handicap (1,200m) for Alfred Chan Ka-hei.

Comments0Comments