After a four-year hiatus, the Post’s prestigious Hong Kong racing awards are back to honour some of the more unique moments from a thrilling 2023-24 season.

Without further adieu, the winners are:

Best ride: Zac Purton – Massive Sovereign

En route to collecting his seventh jockeys’ championship, the 41-year-old treated us to a steer for the ages aboard Dennis Yip Chor-hong’s four-year-old in the Hong Kong Derby (2,000m).

Stranded at the rear of the field in the early stages after a string of near misses in the city’s most prestigious race, Purton produced Massive Sovereign to pinpoint perfection to nail Andrea Atzeni and Ka Ying Generation on the line.

It seemed an impossible task to reel in the tearaway leader turning for home, but Purton wove his magic on the grandest stage of all to surge to the front inside the final 50m.

As well as an epic finish, we were also treated to a rare show of emotion from the Australian as he stood upright in the stirrups, one arm punching the air.

Honourable mention:

Keith Yeung Ming-lun – Fallon: Forced to negotiate gate 14, Yeung waited at the rear of the field on Tony Cruz’s four-year-old before flying home down the centre of the track to spring a shock aboard the $69 chance in December.

Race of the year: Wunderbar vs Ka Ying Rising – round two

The pair produced a great battle on New Year’s Day but it was their second meeting on January 21 which collects the award.

With global powerhouses James McDonald (Wunderbar) and Purton (Ka Ying Rising) in the saddles and only a head-bob between them previously, the clash had all the makings of a stellar heavyweight bout.

The duo sat first and second in the early exchanges, traded blows for the length of straight and could not be separated until the final strides.

Despite a three-pound swing in the weights, Wunderbar narrowly prevailed and increased his winning margin for good measure, with a short head between the exciting sprinters as opposed to a nose on January 1.

Considering the runner-up is now a Group Three winner, we eagerly await Wunderbar’s return to the track next season.

Best training performance: Caspar Fownes with Camino

While Danny Shum Chap-shing orchestrated Romantic Warrior’s groundbreaking season, it is Caspar Fownes who collects the award for the single most remarkable training performance of the campaign with four-year-old Camino.

The son of Charm Spirit was beaten a cumulative 25 lengths in his four starts last season but defied a 357-day break to shed the maiden tag at Happy Valley in May.

Camino was sidelined after suffering a tendon injury in the 2022-23 campaign but powered home under Vincent Ho Chak-yiu to prevail by half a length.

According to former Post racing editor Alan Aitken, Camino’s reappearance win off 357 days has only been surpassed by Shibala (562 days) and Entrapment (461) in the past 20 years in Hong Kong.

“We thought he’d run a cheeky race,” said Fownes after the outstanding feat.

Best villain: Global Harmony

His shenanigans in the starting stalls cost punters around HK$170 million and the quirky but talented five-year-old is undoubtedly the best villain of the 2023-24 season.

After he stood in the gates as a $5 chance under Lyle Hewitson on January 21, Global Harmony again refused to jump under Purton as the $2.2 favourite on February 18.

Like Hannibal Lecter and Darth Vader rolled into one, Purton was jeered by angry punters in the Sha Tin parade ring before the following race.

Global Harmony was permanently banned from racing in Hong Kong when he refused to even trot down to the gates ahead of his barrier trial at Happy Valley in April.

Money muncher: Top Scorer

John Size’s three-year-old has been costly to punters this season, failing to manage a single win from his eight starts.

After a promising runner-up effort under Purton in December, the three-year-old knocked on the door but consistently fell short of the mark.

He has not started bigger than $4.2 and has been turned over at $2.8, $2.2, $2.2, $3.3, $2.4, $3.9 and most recently $2.6 – where he lost his action and was pulled up by Hugh Bowman.

He takes the title of money muncher of the season, while another Size-trained horse deserves an honourable mention.

Four-year-old Beauty Infinity collected two wins from his 11 starts this term, but failed to justify short prices of $2.4, $2.2, $1.6, $2.2, $2.3 and $3.6.

The punters’ pal: Alfred Chan Ka-hei

A flat $10 stake on each of Alfred Chan Ka-hei’s 91 rides this season returned six winners and a profit of $754.50, making him one of only three jockeys to have a positive return for the season.

The best of the trainers was Danny Shum Chap-shing, who returned a profit of $623.50.

Toughest watch: Prognosis

This has to go to Prognosis in the Group One QE II Cup (2,000m), who made a mid-race move three wide without cover and ended up missing out by a neck.

He covered the second sectional in an absurdly quick 22.54 seconds under Japanese rider Yuga Kawada.