Purton treble gives him title edge over Moreira

PA Sport Reporters
May 27, 2020 6:30 pm

Kings Shield stars for champion jockey hopeful.

Kings Shield was the highlight of a treble for Zac Purton at Sha Tin on Wednesday, as the rider pulled three clear of his jockeys’ title rival Joao Moreira.

With Moreira serving a suspension, Purton took full advantage as he steered the Frankie Lor-trained Kings Shield to a two-and-a-half-length verdict in the Egret Handicap.

Kings Shield was previously trained by John Gosden, finishing sixth in the French 2000 Guineas and fifth in the St James’s Palace Stakes in 2018.

“We might run him one more time this season and then there are no more options,” Lor said.

“I’ll have to talk to the owner but maybe (South) Korea is a possibility for the dirt race there (the Korea Cup), and then we might look ahead to Dubai next year if he shows us that he’s good enough.

“But with the coronavirus, we just don’t know yet if we can go anywhere or not.”

Purton added: “It was a small field and he had no pressure on him. He got there very easily and it was there for him to put up a performance like that but they’ve still got to do it. He did it well – it was a nice effort.”

Purton started the meeting level with Moreira but was quickly off the mark on Coolceleb in the opening Shearwater Handicap while Enfolding was on the mark for the rider in the closing Peacock Handicap.