Purton and Hayes the stars at Happy Valley
Extending strong starts to the season, jockey Zac Purton and trainer David Hayes again combined to figure prominently at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.
They crowned their haul with Harmony N Blessed's track-record victory in the Class 3 Clementi Handicap over 1,000m.
Purton collected a treble, while Hayes notched a double to hold outright leadership of the jockeys' and trainers' championships, respectively, after Harmony N Blessed clocked 55.98sec to lower Dancing Fighter's 1,000m mark of 56.09sec.
The victory also propelled the enigmatic Magnus gelding to joint-leadership in the HK$1 million (S$174,000) DBS x Manulife Million Challenge, the lucrative series involving Class 3 races or above at Happy Valley until Feb 23.
Purton now leads arch-rival Joao Moreira 11-8, while Hayes has an 8-6 edge over Danny Shum after six of 88 meetings.
- HKJC
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