Van Niekerk getting under Purton’s skin

IT IS rare to see Zac Purton salute after a victory – not even a Group One – so when he stands up in the irons and flourishes the whip, you know he really enjoyed it.

He did just that after You Have My Word’s narrow victory at Sha Tin on Saturday, and there was some extra meaning to it.

Spat

Purton is in a spat with Grant van Niekerk both on and off the track, which was brought into the public sphere after the Australian was critical of the South African for one of his rides on Twitter last month.

Stewards handed Purton a HK$5,000 fine for “inappropriate behaviour” over the incident, which had a crack at Van Niekerk’s handling of You Have My Word.

The friction between Purton and Van Niekerk has been bubbling away in recent weeks and it was thrust into the public eye during last Sunday’s Happy Valley meeting.

Purton, who is currently serving a two-meeting suspension, is not thrilled with the South African and has told him so in no uncertain terms – on multiple occasions.

There is a suggestion the tension started over arrangements for a social event and then it escalated about conduct on the track.

At one stage, Purton gave Van Niekerk a spray that was severe enough for a trainer to report the incident to the stewards, who called in the Australian to explain himself.

Fan

To put it simply, Purton is not a fan. Some have mused the reigning champion is testing Van Niekerk, whose career in Hong Kong is off to a strong start with seven winners.

But all those winners have come at Sha Tin as the newcomer is still trying to figure out how to tackle the unique Valley circuit.

There is no question that Van Niekerk has struggled to judge pace and work out the nuances of the tight-turning track, but there is no crime in that – adjusting to the vagaries of Happy Valley takes time. He will get better with more experience.

So, on face value, Purton’s critique of Van Niekerk is fair – his mid-race move on You Have My Word probably did not provide his horse with the best chance of winning given the way the race unfolded.

It is certainly unusual to see a jockey publicly have a crack at a rival, but there is a little bit more to it than meets the eye.

Critical

“It’s been a bit of a talking point in Hong Kong, obviously I’m not allowed to be critical of Grant but I’m sure he’ll go home and watch the replay and he would’ve learned something out of what happened last time and today.”