Latest News

By Ray Hickson

You never forget where you come from, and it was that feeling which shaped the theme of Zac Purton’s reflection on his Country Championships win.

He’s climbed the heights of racing in the Hong Kong mecca, he’s a rock star to racing fans over there, and has the reins of the ruling TAB Everest champ and the world’s best sprinter Ka Ying Rising.

It may not have been a Group 1 but guiding Chidiac to win the $1 million Evergreen Turf Country Championships Final (1400m) was no small deal.

Purton is a country boy at heart, he noted that shortly after the win, growing up on farms with plenty of autonomy where at times another person was miles away.

Zac Purton accepts his Country Championships trophy from ATC chairman Tim Hale (Pic: Bradley Photos).

“Everyone’s got their own story and their own journey, everything I’ve done in my life has helped me in some way to get me where I’ve got to,’’ Purton said.

“You probably can’t get too much more of an extreme from where I started. The first primary school I went to was called Mummulgum, out of Casino in Northern NSW, and I think there were only 50 kids at the school.

“I lived on a farm where we couldn’t see anyone else.

“I’ve gone from there to Hong Kong, which is probably one of the most densely populated places in the world with high rises everywhere and people on top of each other.

“I’ve started with one extreme and ended up at the other. But I did love the childhood I had and the freedom I had.

“Once I wanted to be a jockey and was learning how to ride I’d get on my pony and I’d ride all day.

“I’d go through the state forest, through the trails, at that time it was before mobile phones so I had no communication with anyone.”

We’re not going to rehash the rise and rise of Zac Purton here. That story’s been told.

It is a little amusing, however, to listen to the 43-year-old talk about the time he was going to walk away from his apprenticeship – or was he momentarily sacked - after a falling out with his first boss Trevor Hardy.

Essentially, he was simply being a teenager who was having a bit too much fun and whose behaviour was at odds with a man, who he greatly respects, that was very “old school”.

While Purton’s visits back home are reliant on permission from the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and more recently dependant on being able to secure flights, he’s never far away from Australian racing.

You’d think it’d be difficult for a concept like the Country Championships, which brings racing from across New South Wales into the local spotlight, to resonate in a place like Hong Kong.

But that’s not the case, at least Purton found it easy to keep up.

“Social media is a great thing, you’re able to keep in touch with whatever you want around the world instantaneously,” he said.

“So, I get to see and feel and hear about the build up to it and it’s a great that it goes out to all those areas then you have the Final on a big day like that.

“It’s a great idea, it’s about the whole journey and brings a lot of people from around the state together. There’s a lot of money on offer for country trainers and owners.

“It’s a prestigious race to be involved in and to win it certainly means a lot to them.”

There’s no doubt winning the $1 million race on Day 1 of The Championships meant a great deal to Brett and Georgie Cavanough who celebrated their first win in a race the family has coveted since its inception in 2015.

For Brett Cavanough it was the first time he’d qualified a horse for the Final since his move to Scone in 2017 and Chidiac’s win was made that extra bit special as it provided a huge highlight in his 28-year-old daughter’s first season as his co-trainer.

Purton said he was pleased to be able to deliver the win to the connections, the mare is owned by Gerry Harvey, and he was certainly no stranger to the mare’s ability when legged on board.

“They’re making a great fist of things at the moment and they couldn’t have done a better job preparing the mare,’’ he said.

“I watched her replays, had a listen to what other people had to say and just rode her on feel. She gave me a great ride.

Zac Purton guides Ka Ying Rising to his 20th straight win in the Chairman's Sprint Prize in Hong Kong last month (Pic: Grant Guy)

“She was clean out of the gates, straight into the bridle, travelled cleanly and comfortably the whole way, she seemed to get through the ground nicely then it was a matter of holding her together and hoping she’d run the distance.”

We must talk about Ka Ying Rising, with planning well underway for his defence of the Group 1 $20 million TAB Everest at Randwick on October 17 this year.

The conversation with Purton happened in the days after the champion broke his 1200m track record yet again and extended his winning streak to 19 in the Sprint Cup. If he hasn’t made it 20 in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize on April 26 perhaps the world will have come to an end. (Note: He did in fact make it 20 straight!).

Ominously, he says the version of Ka Ying Rising that Sydney saw in 2025 pales in comparison to what he’s seeing and feeling right now.

“It’s incredible the way he moves,’’ he said.

“I think he’s a better horse than what he was (in the Everest) last year, we know what to expect this time as well then we hope the weather plays its part.”

Ka Ying Rising will enjoy some R&R at Conghua until trainer David Hayes prepares an identical preparation to last year which comprised a trial and a run in the Chief Executive’s Cup prior to boarding the plane to Sydney.

“He’ll go have a freshen up, go out in the day yards, just relax and enjoy himself and then he’ll start to prepare for the Chief Executive’s Cup,’’ he said.

“He’ll be giving away a lot of weight this year, he’ll be giving away 20 pounds, which is a lot, and he can only have one trial going into the race.

“But that’s what he has to do, there’s no way of getting around it.”

*This article originally appeared in the May 2026 edition of the Racing NSW magazine

Racing NSW - your home of live racing, form, tips and the latest news.