Moreira Can't Gain on Purton in HK Jockey Race

Joao Moreira booted home three winners on the June 16 card at Sha Tin Racecourse but still could not gain ground on leading rider Zac Purton, who scored a hat trick of his own.

Adding insult to injury for Moreira, the multiple Hong Kong champion rider, he twice finished second behind Purton winners.

With only seven days left on the 2017-18 calendar, Purton leads Moreira 124 winners to 119. Karis Teetan stands third on the list with 47 scores.

As a consolation prize, the trio of winners pushed Moreira to 702 wins in his five-year stint in Hong Kong. Only the fifth rider to hit the 700 mark, Moreira has announced plans to leave Hong Kong to ride in Japan.

"As I have said a number of times before, I never dreamed that I could reach such a number in Hong Kong," Moreira told Hong Kong Jockey Club's Andrew Hawkins. "So I'm very pleased and proud of what I have achieved here. There is still plenty I want to achieve though, so hopefully it's the start of a number of good things down the road for me."

Moreira, 34, a native of Brazil, rode more than 1,000 winners in South America before relocating in 2009 to Singapore, where he quickly became the dominant rider. He moved to Hong Kong in 2013 and has been the leading rider the past three seasons. Purton was second to Moreira in 2016-17, 63 winners back.