Purton to give Ng a helping hand
Zac Purton has agreed to help out the Jockey Club and act as a mentor for troubled apprentice Alvin Ng Ka-chun.
Ng has racked up 22 days' worth of careless riding suspensions in seven episodes this term, the latest on May 19 when stewards were forced to hand him two four-day bans at the same meeting for separate races.
When Keith Yeung Ming-lun ran into a similar string of troubles last season, Douglas Whyte was happy to help tutor him and that turned out well.
Yeung got his act together and is enjoying a good 2011-12 season as a senior, sacrificing only four days in suspensions over the past year.
'We're really pleased Zac Purton has agreed to guide Alvin. He's still a young jockey himself who, it's fair to say, had his share of brushes with the stewards when he was an apprentice in Brisbane, so he will be able to relate to what Alvin's going through,' said chief steward Kim Kelly.
'And it's to Purton's credit that he got through those tribulations and rose past that to become a top jockey in Sydney and now a world-class rider here. And we hope that story is something that can give Alvin Ng a goal to work at for himself.'
Meanwhile, Whyte has laid to rest any thoughts that Sunday's ugly fall at Sha Tin, when his mount Can Do shattered a foreleg mid-race, might have even the slightest impact on his immediate career.
The South African may have been sending out a message to his rivals when he turned up to ride seven horses at trackwork yesterday, and has seven rides tomorrow night at Happy Valley.
Andreas Suborics, suspended for three days and fined HK$25,000 for careless riding in the last race, has lodged notice of his intention to appeal.
