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Murray Bell

Aussie cashes in on Beadman misfortune to land feature
They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but Zac Purton found it a very warming experience at Sha Tin yesterday as he transferred his own burning desire to win to the sometimes-reluctant Viva Macau, carrying the colours of casino magnate Stanley Ho Hung-sun.
The handsome black stallion took the HK$1.75 million Sa Sa Ladies' Purse (1,800m) for the second year, a feat that was all the more unusual because he has shouldered topweight of 133 pounds on each occasion.
But the thrill of victory was at least doubled for the young Australian  because he'd been smarting for days at the decision of trainer David Ferraris and the owners of Fearless to sack him from that horse after initially engaging him.
When Purton left home for his day's work, he was 'sure' to be a grandstand jockey for the main event. But the results from the racing chocolate wheel are never finally determined until correct weight is declared.
When Darren Beadman sustained a fall on his coccyx earlier in the day and was stood down, trainer John Moore sought Purton out as the stand-in for Viva Macau and the rest, as they say, is history.
'I think everyone knows I lost the ride on Fearless and I was all set to be in the jockeys' room watching the race on TV,' Purton said.
'But one person's misfortune is another one's good fortune and I was lucky enough to be able to pick up a nice ride and win the race.
'I feel terribly sorry for Darren and I really hope he's OK, no one wants something like that to happen to a colleague. But it's  amazing  how luck and opportunity seem to go in waves and today the bounce of the ball has gone my way.'
Purton has been slowly building a profile with Moore, whose sole winner at the meeting kept him one ahead of a rampaging John Size, whose four-timer took him to a close second on the  ladder, on an 11-10 scoreline.
'I've won a Premier Cup for him [on Able One] and a nice Class Two [on Able Too] and now the Ladies' Purse, so the quality of winners has been there, even if the quantity hasn't but hopefully we'll be able to change that,' he added.
Purton had Viva Macau racing handy for most of the trip and the former French racer, a one-time member of the Alain de Royer-Dupre yard, loomed early for the battle down the home straight.
Purton gave him a couple of stern reminders with the whip before putting the persuader away in favour of a strong hand ride.
Right on the line, however, he thought his best had not been good enough as Douglas Whyte on Fearless pressed hard, though their strides were completely out of sync.
'I must admit I thought Douglas had beaten me and as we passed the post, I said 'congratulations' and he said 'thank you',' Purton said.
'So we both thought he had won and we both got a surprise when we came back to scale and saw my number [1] had got the photo.'
Moore was unusually subdued in victory, with the leading handler clearly shaken by the injury sustained by Beadman.
'It was a race he could win but he's not always an easy horse to read,' Moore said. 'He won it last year under Darren and he hasn't been able to win since so we're naturally delighted for Dr Ho that he's been able to win another one. He'll be back in with the big boys next start in the Cup Trial.'
The Group Two Cathay Pacific International Cup Trial is staged over 2,000m at Sha Tin on November 16.
Weight carrier
Viva Macau displayed courage and class aplenty to claw a short-head margin from Fearless with a top weight of: 133



Revenge never tasted so  sweet for spurned Purton