Riders Recovering After Nasty Hong Kong Sprint Pileup

All the jockeys involved in a frightening pileup in the Longines Hong Kong Sprint (G1) Dec. 12 reportedly are on the road to recovery from relatively minor injuries while the day's star, Golden Sixty, finally may be on the road himself before long.

Zac Purton returned to Sha Tin Racecourse early Dec. 14, less than 48 hours after he hit the turf in a pileup entering the stretch run of the Hong Kong Sprint. Hong Kong's leading rider had nothing but a good prognosis despite four broken ribs and assorted other bumps and bruises, per Hong Kong Jockey Club's Declan Schuster.

Purton even made light of his injured nose.

"I feel pretty good, actually," Purton said during morning barrier trials. "If the doctors didn't tell me all of the little injuries I have, I'd be ready to jump back on a horse now. But I just need a couple of weeks off, maybe. The wrist is probably the most sore at this stage but the four fractured ribs are OK.

"I'm surprised I have the fractures (in the ribs) because they feel fine. The nose is not a problem. It was already bent," said Purton, who is known for shading the bent nose under the bills of a full roster of American baseball team caps.

Purton, a four-time Hong Kong riding champion, estimated being out of action from two to four weeks—an absence that could jeopardize his chances for another title. He won the first three races on the Dec. 12 program before the spill in the fifth and leads his closest rival, Joao Moreira, 52 wins to 40.

He also had positive reports on injured mates Yuichi Fukunaga and Lyle Hewitson. The fourth fallen rider, Karis Teetan, walked off the track and continued riding.

"Thankfully, we're all OK. Lyle was probably the one I had the most concern for, and my thoughts were with him but thankfully he's good and I was able to see him in hospital before I walked out and left … It's nice that we've all walked away with relatively small and minor injuries," he said.

Amazing Star, whose fall precipitated the pileup, and Naboo Attack were euthanized. The other horses were not seriously injured.

Quote from David Hayes on Naboo Attack:

‘Today is one of my saddest days in racing. My favourite horse, my biggest horse, and my best horse has sadly passed away. A gentle giant who was about to show the world his greatness.’ pic.twitter.com/J93mQTPm2H

— Lindsay Park Racing (@lindsayparkrace) December 12, 2021

Meanwhile, the star of the Hong Kong International Races program, Longines Hong Kong Mile (G1) winner Golden Sixty, appears poised to try his luck overseas after running out of credible opponents in Hong Kong and successfully defending the home turf on three international race days.

The 6-year-old Medaglia d'Oro   gelding notched his 19th Hong Kong win, bettering the record of 18 held jointly with Beauty Generation—names that will not be forgotten at Sha Tin. The Mile also was his 16th straight victory—one short of Silent Witness' mark in that category.

Trainer Francis Lui has ducked discussion of foreign travel for his stable star but jockey Vincent Ho opened up a bit during barrier trials Tuesday, mentioning the Yasuda Kinen (G1), a 1,600-meter (about one-mile) race at Tokyo Racecourse in June as a possible target.

"We'll still discuss it but maybe Tokyo," Ho said, per the HKJC report. "Let's see what the owner (Stanley Chan Ka-Leung) and Francis want to do with him. We have a few options."

Ho pointed out Golden Sixty hasn't left Sha Tin since he arrived in Hong Kong as a 3-year-old—not even to travel to the HKJC's in-town Happy Valley Racecourse or to the grassy, spa-like conditions of the Club's new Conghua Racecourse training center on the Chinese mainland.

"But he's a really fast learner so we'll need to refresh him with traveling and he should be fine," Ho added.