ZACKING!!!

It was the weekend, I refused to watch the non-stop news about the crippling fires in Hong Kong, finished a song I was writing and stumbled on a video where Michael Parkinson was interviewing the great Shane Warne. It was easy to see that the great British television host and Warnie were friends and nothing was off limits. 

The more I watched this 2007 interview, I was reminded of how similar Zac Purton is to the great cricketer in his frankness, his pride in being an Australian and how he plays mind games with his opponents.

Though not a team sport, Zac has reached that stage in his career in horse racing where he wants to better his own considerable achievements leaving no one to ever come even close to bettering them.

It would be an understatement to say that Zac likes to win.

Like Shane Warne did so well, he reads the play very well and then attacks any signs of weakness.

It’s not unlike “sledging” in cricket, and which in competitive horse racing could be called “Zacking”.

This “Zacking” might happen behind the barriers, when inside the barriers, during a race, and very probably after winning a race- or even after losing a race, which is a rarity for Zac these days.

Frankly, Zac Purton is the King because he’s a very good horseman and owns winning at Happy Valley and Shatin.

I have never seen anyone ride the city track better and with a confidence that some believe to be arrogance.

And if it is arrogance, so what?

I believe it’s good theatre for horse racing. We saw this rise to the occasion the season when The Zac Attack ended the thirteen year reign of the South African “Durban Demon” Douglas Whyte as the Champion jockey of Hong Kong with some needling and finger pointing going on to signal the changing of the guard.

With Douglas Whyte now a trainer, and an astute judge of knowing the importance of horses for courses, he sees which jockeys suit his gallopers best.

Not many appear to suit Zac though they have teamed up for a couple of winners.

For the Aussie, who, apart from having broken every riding record once owned by Douglas, he’s probably wondering what else to break other than some plates in a Greek restaurant.

Douglas was a worthy and lethal competitor and knew when his competitors would choke, something Brett Prebble probably did when he seemed to have the 2009-2010 Jockeys championship in the bag, but lost it by one winner. But life goes on, and the past is the past.

As for Travels With Zac, quite recently, British trainer Maureen Haggas described his ride aboard her galloper Lake Forest in the King Charles 111 Stakes at Randwick during one of his flying visits Down Under as being that of a “big sissy”. 

The Aussie returned serve by laughing it off and adding that he might have been busy counting his winnings after partnering Ka Ying Rising to take out the AUS$20 million race known as The Everest.

“Big sissy” or not, when regular rider Tom Marquand got aboard the galloper, it must have been a “big sissy” of a ride as Lake Forest looked somewhat pedestrian.

With his main regular ride being on Ka Ying Rising, a race horse he was destined to ride, and pretty much able to pick and choose the best gallopers in Hong Kong, he’s not leaving anything to chance. There are certainly no certainties in this city.

Zac is no dullard and knows that the Hong Kong Jockey Club would like to see a more level playing field and no doubt hope to see James McDonald aka J-Mac riding in Hong Kong on a permanent basis. This might be wishful thinking. And if it isn’t, well, Zac Purton might be saying, “Bring it on!” 

Maybe he’s missing the competition?

Let’s just remember that this isn’t the the naive and opinionated young gun from Coffs Harbour who arrived in Hong Kong in time for the 2007-2008 racing season and found it tough going.

He’s watched, learned from a number of greats in racing, understood the nooks and crannies of the very complex business world from owners, and grown up.

Zac is perhaps outwardly as unpredictable as ever- BUT, having read the tea leaves, understanding the lay of the land that’s Hong Kong, and now approaching 43, there’s a maturity and thought process where sometimes, the less said is more than enough.

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