When Zac Purton walks off the racetrack declaring that he thinks “the tide has turned” after just one meeting, it would seem safe to assume he believes he’s in for a reasonable season.

While most jockeys would kill for a return like Purton’s in 2020-21, the man himself said last week that he “felt like the ball just bounced against me the whole way”.

It’s a measure of the heights the 38-year-old has scaled when he looks back with indifference on a season that featured 125 winners and victory in the city’s richest race, a Hong Kong Cup success aboard Japanese raider Normcore.

It was a far more upbeat Purton who left Sha Tin on Sunday after wins aboard two smart youngsters – one that could be anything – and the news he will be in the saddle for the exciting Naboo Attack’s next run.

It’s no secret the retirements of Beauty Generation and Exultant have left a hole in Purton’s top-end arsenal and last season was the first time in a long time he went through a campaign without winning a Group One aboard a Hong Kong-trained horse.

He briefly had himself a top-liner earlier this year in Classique Legend but that ended in tears when the Everest-winning sprinter returned to Australia after a bleed, with Purton forced to watch on as Wellington – a horse he won on twice in lower grades – went on to collect the Group One Chairman’s Sprint Prize under Alexis Badel.

Karis Teetan flies out of the gates and is optimistic he can keep the ball rolling at Happy Valley

Compounding his problems was the fact that potential superstars Courier Wonder, Killer Bee and Fantastic Treasure surged up the ratings with winning sprees for rival jockeys.

While it’s still early, his impending partnership with the beastly David Hayes-trained Naboo Attack, a mouth-watering victory aboard stablemate Nervous Witness and a second consecutive win aboard smart Classic Series hopeful Packing Victory have given Purton confidence the process of replenishing his stocks is well under way.

“I think this season I can already feel and see I’m going to have a few of these young horses that are going to be progressive, so that’s a big difference to last season,” he said.

“Winner Method was the only one I had last season and he only managed to win a Class Three. I think the tide has turned.”

Naboo Attack is now two from two in Hong Kong and on a rating of 100 after his victory under Karis Teetan in Sunday’s Class One Chief Executive’s Cup (1,200m), prompting Hayes to set his sights on December’s Hong Kong Sprint.

While there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge between a Class One victory with 113 pounds and Group One success, Purton is relying on him to keep stepping up to the plate.

“I need horses like him to fill the void for me and he can’t have done any more that what he’s done so far,” the jockey said.

“He’s been impressive, whether he’s going to want 1,600m or whether he’s a sprinter, time will tell. He’s certainly doing everything right at the moment and he’s a chance of taking that next step.”

Hayes walks the walk

Hong Kong racing needs people like Hayes to keep things interesting and a couple of the 58-year-old’s declarations gained weight at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Hayes told everyone willing to listen – and then some – that he’ll double his win tally this season after finishing in the bottom half of the trainers’ table with 32 victories last term, while also anointing Naboo Attack “the best horse in the stable” after his debut victory in May.

David Hayes makes emphatic statement with treble at season opener

An opening-day treble – Hayes’ first at Sha Tin in more than 16 years – gives the trainer the perfect platform to work from and it’s going to be an intriguing watch as the season unfolds.

The latter claim has already proven correct: Naboo Attack is now comfortably the highest-rated galloper in Hayes’ stable but he might soon have some competition for that title as talented youngsters like Fantastic Treasure and Nervous Witness continue to fly through the grades.

At the end of last season Hayes also predicted he’ll be “featuring in more Class Ones next year” – tick – and reiterated he’s desperate to have a more significant presence in Hong Kong’s biggest races. Naboo Attack may give him that sooner rather than later.