In the moments before Zac Purton hoists the jockeys' championship trophy above his head at Sha Tin this afternoon, the first jockey not named Douglas Whyte to do so this century, the proud Australian will reflect on all he has overcome to scale his personal and professional Everest.
He will think back to the 14-year-old kid in Coffs Harbour, all skin and bones and bravado, who walked into a stable and asked for an apprenticeship but, at just 27 kilograms, was too weak to ride horses.
He will recall the angst of being a struggling 23-year-old in his rookie season in Hong Kong, starved of opportunities, riding 40-1 shots and brought to tears through frustration as more established riders "stole" his winning rides.
Then there was the more recent pain of just 12 months ago as he lay stricken in a hospital bed, cramping and passing blood due to kidney stones brought on by dehydration from severe weight loss, watching helplessly as arch-rival Whyte ran away with what he thought would be his first title.
Sometimes it seems like it is a case of "Zac against the world", and the brash Aussie seems to like it that way, too. Although the forthright nature and tell-it-like-it-is attitude might not be everybody's cup of tea, maybe it has helped him to his lofty position.
But now that the dragon has been slayed and he is relieved of the burden of being "second best", will the competitive fire still burn in Purton? Or will he be content to watch the man most believe is the next champion, Joao Moreira, take his place atop the mountain?
"I suppose the pressure is off. I set out to win the championship and I did," Purton, 31, says, before declaring: "But now that I am champion I have to defend my title. There's no backing off.
"I started from the bottom. I didn't know anybody here and I certainly didn't have the red carpet rolled out for me, but all of those obstacles make me appreciate it more.
"It's been a long, hard slog over seven years but because of that I have earned it, and it's been very rewarding and it will be very satisfying. But it also means I want to keep it."
Of course, if you ask Purton he'll say he will keep fighting to the last, but the question was put to the person who knows him best, wife Nicole, who is expecting their first child in October.
Will we see a milder Purton next season, perhaps one that rides 122 pounds instead of 120? Or doesn't push through a narrow gap in a close finish?
"Are you kidding? He won't back off now, he is far too competitive," Nicole laughed. "He won't even let me beat him at table tennis.
"The only sport he isn't good at is ice skating, but I reckon if it came down to a contest, he would go to Russia, hire the best coach money could buy, then train like crazy so he would win."
Purton has had a dream season. He became the first Australian to win the title in 23 years and the third overall after countrymen Noel Barker and Gary Moore. And he could end up breaking Whyte's all-time record for wins in a season with 114 (he needs three today to draw level).
Typically, not everything went his way though. In February, he lost the ride on reigning Horse of the Year Military Attack, falling out with trainer John Moore. But of all the things Purton will reflect on, Moore and the Military Attack saga won't be among them. "That's just part and parcel of the game, it wasn't the first horse I have been taken off and it won't be the last," he says. "On the flip side, I pick up those rides off other jockeys.
"It is disappointing but it wasn't something I dwelt on. I did think it was unjust and unfair though. He is a horse that takes a few runs to reach peak fitness and we all knew that. The trainer asked me to ride the horse a certain way, I did, and when it didn't win he was looking to blame someone. The first person who gets blamed is the jockey."
The lack of support from Moore - despite clinching the Longines Hong Kong Vase with an amazing ride on Dominant - and other leading trainers is part of what makes Purton's rise so remarkable. He doesn't ride for Moore and rarely has for two other perennial title contenders, John Size and Tony Cruz.
Neither Size nor Cruz give much away as to why they don't utlilise the talents of the new number one, but Purton says he isn't losing any sleep over it. What he would rather focus on is the support he gets from the final member of "the big four" trainers, Caspar Fownes, who has thrown his weight behind Purton in the midst of his own title push.
Fownes has watched Purton increase his win total in each of the previous six seasons, but most of all he has witnessed a boy grow into a man and a polished professional emerge.
"He has grown up - but more as a person than as a rider," Fownes said. "He had to pick his game up from my perspective with his professionalism.
"His talent was always there but it is his attitude that has changed. He never had a bad attitude but he probably wasn't professional enough. He is a totally different person from when he arrived."
As the torch is passed from the greatest of all time to the next in line, Purton is complimentary of Whyte - a man he has traded barbs with over the past few seasons, in a heated rivalry played out on the track and in the media.
In fact, Purton credits Whyte with helping make him the jockey he is today, even if the compliments seem a little backhanded in nature.
"Douglas is a phenomenal jockey, of course," Purton says. "He has broken all of the records and he is a fierce competitor and a great rider. He doesn't make many mistakes and he deserves everything he receives - he is very disciplined.
"Every rider here has made me better - the beauty is you have jockeys from all over the world and they all bring their own different style and you can learn something off everyone.
"But with Douglas it is the fierce competitiveness and sheer ruthlessness in the way he operates that I have learnt. It's been a case of 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do' and he has instilled that fierceness in me to go out there and really chase it, and chase hard.
"If people want to be as successful as he is, you have to operate in a similar manner."
So what's next for Purton, other than defending his title from new kid on the block Moreira and a vengeful Whyte?
For a start there will be more overseas forays, like the one that netted a Group One in April, in Sydney, aboard Sacred Falls, and he will travel for an off-season stint in Japan. He will then try to fill a void in his Group One riding stocks at home.
"Ever since Little Bridge retired, Ambitious Dragon was injured and I was taken off Military Attack I have lacked that marquee horse and I would like to get a ride like that," he says.
"In the future I would like to travel more and win more Group Ones overseas like I did this season. But most of all I want to win another championship.
"You don't walk away from something you have established. I will be just as fierce - as a jockey you only have so many years in the saddle and I will be back making the most of it."
