Zac Purton is putting his faith in Copartner Prance’s improving racing manners to help overcome a sharp rise in weight when he bids for a fourth straight victory at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.

The six-time Hong Kong champion jockey will put his unblemished record on Francis Lui Kin-wai’s progressive galloper on the line in the Class Three Seine Handicap (1,200m), having ridden him in each of his three consecutive triumphs.

Buoyed by the way Copartner Prance settled in his latest appearance, Purton has one major concern after claiming the Epaulette gelding was treated harshly by Jockey Club handicappers.

He copped a nine-point rating penalty for winning the Class Three France Galop Cup (1,200m) by a length and a half last start, which gives him an extra 10 pounds to carry on Wednesday night.

“It’s probably a little bit unfair by the handicapper, because when you get those [on-speed] biased tracks, the margins can be a little bit deceiving, so they’ve made it hard for him,” Purton said.

“But Francis is going good, the stable’s going well, hopefully we can just copy and paste what we’ve been doing.

“[Last start was] the first time in the three times I’ve ridden him that he’s relaxed mid-race. The first time he over-raced really badly, the second time he was still strong and last time he relaxed, so he’s starting to work it out now that he’s getting a little bit further into it, which he’ll need to do. But when he was at the top of Class Four with a lot of weight (135 pounds), he struggled to carry that weight and only beat a Class Five horse (My Intelligent). He’s got near top weight here in Class Three and it’s a stronger field, so that’s his test.”

Copartner Prance must also overcome barrier seven in an even race featuring the likes of class dropper Winning Icey, the in-form Our Lucky Glory, California Touch and Solar Partner.

“He’s done a good job, hasn’t he?” Purton said of Copartner Prance.

“He’s still learning what it’s about. He’s not the easiest horse to ride in the mornings. I don’t get the pleasure of riding him in the mornings because he’s too difficult, I’m just the race day jockey and he even tests me out there. But he’s been doing a lot of things right, he’s got good speed, he puts himself in the right spot.

“I think the track bias and the softer ground helped him the other day, that made the margin look probably more flattering than it might have been on a firmer track, but he’s doing a good job of it and hopefully he can do it again.”

Leading the jockeys’ premiership with 100 victories this season, Purton will also ride August Moon, Strongest Boy, To Infinity, Fortune Warrior, Dragon Star and Sight Supreme at Happy Valley.

The 41-year-old will be chasing more big race success in the coming weeks. His Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) winning ride, Massive Sovereign, is a likely starter in the Group One Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m) at Sha Tin on May 26 and he has been booked to ride Voyage Bubble in the Group One Yasuda Kinen (1,600m) at Tokyo racecourse on June 2.