Star jockeys Vincent Ho and Zac Purton were among four jockeys hospitalised after a day of brutal falls. Ho, Hong Kong’s homegrown star synonymous with the champion racehorse Golden Sixty, and Aussie Purton, the multiple champion and winning-most jockey in Hong Kong history, were riding at Sha Tin on Sunday. Ho was the first casualty when his horse came down after appearing to clip the heels of another runner as he attempted to negotiate a gap in the sixth race.
Then in race nine, three jockeys were in the wars after Legend St Pauls, ridden by Angus Chung, broke down in the straight and fell in front of the following horses ridden by Purton and Keith Yeung before they were able to take evasive action. Legend St Pauls could not be saved and was humanely euthanised. All four jockeys were treated on the track before being transported to the Prince of Wales Hospital.
On Monday the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s chief medical officer provided a condition update on all the riders. The report said Ho had spent the night in the Intensive Care Unit, having sustaining a head injury and minor fractures to his shoulder and neck. “These injuries are expected to heal with conservative management,” the bulletin said. “He is expected to be discharged from the ICU to the general ward within the next 24 hours.”.
Purton, who has ridden 1,824 winners in Hong Kong, faces having to miss a number of major dates in his schedule. He had been granted leave to ride in the Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning Stakes in Australia on Saturday and is set to also miss a date with the world’s top sprinter Ka Ying Rising in Hong Kong on February 23. He was due to undergo surgery on Monday to manage a fracture of his left big toe and was likely to require approximately four to six weeks of rest and rehabilitation.
