It's a hot mid-morning at Sha Tin and the humidity is closing in on 100 per cent. With sweat pouring from his forehead, Zac Purton whacks the boxing pads relentlessly and is then asked for "20 more" by trainer Jason Cortis. Purton powers through the last set and then finishes the 90-minute session with 50 crunches as a downpour provides some welcome relief.
Purton rides hard, plays hard, and is training harder than ever.
"People sometimes just rely on their talent, but that's not enough," Cortis says. It is clear Purton is no longer simply leaning on his skills in the saddle as he tries to dethrone 13-time champion Douglas Whyte.
"Someone told me Douglas Whyte does everything by the book: physio, chiropractor, nutrition, and if that all helps him one per cent, then that could be the difference," Cortis says.
Cortis isn't the only member of "Team Purton" in the 30-year-old's push for the title; there's been specialists consulted in Australia and Hong Kong, blood tests taken and analysed, plus a man they call "the Guru" - lifestyle coach Ron Johnson.
Cortis is a chiselled ex-pro boxer turned personal trainer from Sydney who is used to whipping corporate high-fliers into shape. He says Purton is an elite athlete who could, on the score of mental and physical toughness, hold his own in any sport.
"Zac can do anything you ask him to as an athlete. He needs to be sharp and explosive. In a 2,000-metre race, with 500m to go, and if his arms and legs start to feel like jelly, when that voice in your head chimes in, then you need to have the confidence to push through."
Last season Purton's body betrayed him down the stretch as his championship hopes faded. Kidney stones caused by severe dehydration forced him to miss two meetings. That came after another memorable Sha Tin meeting in January where he fought cramps and severe pain yet still rode four winners. Purton had returned from a short break in Thailand where he let himself go, and was forced to lose 11 pounds in three days.
"I was relying on natural ability. I can lose seven or eight pounds and still ride as good as anyone else. I just allowed myself to be in that position all the time," Purton says. "I need to make sure that I still have a body when I finish riding. I've had to try to approach things differently, so I've got to try to stop wasting as much as I was and lead a healthier life."
Enter Johnson, a self-taught dietary consultant who shot to prominence when helping Larry Olsen get down to 51.5 kilograms to win the 1987 Melbourne Cup on Kensei. Unorthodox doesn't begin to describe his style. "I did away with any modern medical beliefs, and I cured my own body, then I decided I would teach other people," he says.
The 61-year-old takes some of his dietary cues from the bible, but sums up his attitude to nutrition with a most unbiblical phrase: "Don't eat any crap." "It's a macrobiotic philosophy to diet," he says. "I got into the Old and New Testament and matched it all up, all of the nutritional laws they talk about. The truth is all there."
Even though Johnson is famous for dramatic weight-loss stories, he stresses sustainability: "The quick fixes don't work," he says. "One kilo to a jockey is 10 kilos to a normal person. They are on the limit already."
Johnson has been omnipresent in the past two weeks when Purton eats, or at least watches others eat, in pre-season, ensuring that his client doesn't stray from the doctrine.
"In Australia, it is much easier to maintain your weight," Purton says. "But here, we go to so many lunches and dinners. Owners don't force the food down your throat, but they certainly put the food on your plate."
Regardless of how fit, disciplined and determined Purton is - or how well he rides - there's still the chance Whyte will simply ride more winners than everyone else. Purton has often pointed to the fact that Whyte gets better opportunities, but the gap in quality might be closing.
"I feel as if that at this stage of the pre-season the trainers have been more supportive, more receptive and more positive than they have been at any other stage of any season," he says. "My job is to give 100 per cent on every horse and try to win as many races for my owners and my trainers. If I do that and I get the opportunities, I can win the championship."
