Hong Kong's superstar jockey Zac Purton is relying on the emerging potential of Grafterburners and training skills of Kelly Schweida when they combine for the Group 1 $1.5 million Doomben 10,000 (1200m) at Doomben on Saturday.

Purton has never ridden Grafterburners but said he will be spending race-eve doing his "homework" and studying the form of the three-year-old and his 10,000 rivals.

"I don't know a lot about Grafterburners but I am aware he has a bit of history in the gates,'' Purton told Racing And Sports.

"He is a three-year-old up against the big 'boys' and probably needs to find a little bit but being a promising younger horse he is open to improvement.

"He has a good record and needs to take that next step but hopefully he can.''

Purton, the rider of the world's best sprinter Ka Ying Rising, acknowledged Grafterburners has the opportunity to realise his potential under Schweida's guidance.

"I rode a lot for Kelly when I was based in Brisbane,'' Purton said. "He is great trainer, very astute – he knows what he is doing.''

Purton goes back to where it all began for him when he arrives in Brisbane on Friday to prepare for the Doomben 10,000 meeting where he has a full book of nine rides for eight different trainers.

The champion jockey who was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame last year, first rose to prominence in Brisbane where he won the 2003 jockeys premiership while still an apprentice.

In fact, Purton has ridden more winners on Brisbane's two tracks – Eagle Farm (100 wins) and Doomben (84 wins) – than any other Australian racecourse.

These figures are overshadowed by his mountainous achievements in Hong Kong since moving there in 2007.

Purton is set to win a ninth Hong Kong jockeys premiership this season and is closing in on becoming the first to ride 2000 winners inn Hong Kong.

Purton's double at Happy Valley on Wednesday night takes him to 1992 Hong Kong winners and he will be keen to add to that tally at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Interestingly, Purton, who has ridden 53 Group 1 winners worldwide, has managed only one Group 1 win in Queensland which he achieved a decade ago on Sacred Elixir in the JJ Atkins but the Australian Hall of Fame jockey has an undeniable chance on local sprint star Grafterburners.

In latest betting for the Doomben 10,000, Grafterburners is third favourite at $7 behind Jimmysstar ($3.40) and Napoleonic ($6).

With the scratching earlier this morning of Abounding, James McDonald is confirmed as the rider of Napoleonic while Tim Clark now goes onto Beadman ( $11).

Grafterburners has won six of his 13 starts and this season has won the $3 million The Sunlight, the Listed Gold Edition Plate, and last start ran third behind boom filly Tempted in the Group 2 Arrowfield Stud Stakes at Royal Randwick during The Championships last month.

Purton's return to Brisbane is a promotional coup for Racing Queensland but the Doomben meeting will be the jockey's only appearance during the winter carnival.

Brisbane's eight Group 1 races including the Doomben 10,000 are not among the world's top 100 rated races each year and therefore requires special permission from the Hong Kong Jockey Club for Purton to return to ride on Saturday.

"Under normal circumstances, the Hong Kong Jockey Club would not let me go,'' Purton said.
"But Racing Queensland officials were in Saudi Arabia for the Asian Racing Conference recently and they approached the (HKJC) club about me going down for the Doomben 10,000 and they agreed.

"This is probably my only trip to Brisbane for the carnival so I hope we can have a bit of luck on Saturday.''

Aritcle: Ray Thomas, International Editor for Racing and Sports

Photo: HKJC