With 102 wins on the board, Purton has four race meetings in which to attempt to match his previous Hong Kong best of 112, achieved in his championship-winning 2013/14 season.

One horse that has already done more than his fair share for the Purton cause is Best Reward (123lb), and horse and rider will team in Saturday’s Class 3 Serving The Community Handicap (2000m) in search of a fifth straight win together.

“You’d like to think he could make this step up to Class 3,” Purton said of the So-trained galloper. “He stays, he just needs the race run to suit and if that’s the case he’ll be competitive again.”

Best Reward, successful on dirt and turf, has risen from Class 5 and a rating of 40 at the start of his sequence back in early March, to a current rating of 69. The Holy Roman Emperor gelding, a half-brother to last year’s G1 Coronation Cup (2400m) third Roseburg, put daylight on the field when sluicing to a 2200m score last time.

“He’s definitely surprised me, I didn’t think he’d get to where he’s got to now,” Purton said. “I knew he could win in (Class) five and the bottom of four but he’s continued to improve, He’s got more confident and he’s strengthened up as the season’s gone on. Obviously, confidence is a great thing at times and he’s certainly racing with a lot of that.”