Jockey Zac Purton, rider of Ka Ying Rising, celebrates winning The Everest 2025 race at the Royal Randwick racecourse in Sydney on October 18, 2025. (Photo: AFP)
June 2, 2026
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Zac Purton became the first jockey to ride 2,000 winners in Hong Kong when he guided Rising World to victory at the city’s Sha Tin Racecourse on Sunday.
The 43-year-old Australian reached the milestone by holding off Almighty Warrior by a short head in the opening race of the day.
Purton first rode in Hong Kong as a 24-year-old in 2007, and has gone on to be the most successful jockey in the history of Hong Kong racing.
He passed the previous record of 1,813 wins in Hong Kong, held by Douglas Whyte, in January 2025.
He has won a total of eight jockeys’ championships and ridden 35 Group One winners in a city where horse racing is the most popular sport.
Purton has most recently partnered the world’s best sprinter, Ka Ying Rising, to achieve a Hong Kong record 20 consecutive wins.
“When I reflect back upon it and look at some of those great moments I’ve had in my career, it truly is amazing,” Purton told the South China Morning Post.
“I’ve been truly fortunate. Of course I couldn’t do anything without the support I get from the owners and trainers. Hong Kong’s been such a great place for me.”