Purton hopes Chill Kaka can bounce back from disappointing defeat and surgery

Zac Purton boots home Chill Kaka in April. Photos: Kenneth Chan

Zac Purton is hopeful Chill Kaka can bounce back from a disappointing defeat to end last season when he returns in Sunday’s Class Three Pat Sin Leng Handicap (1,650m) at Sha Tin.

An impressive winner of back-to-back dirt races last term, the Ricky Yiu Poon-fai-trained gelding finished his campaign with a well-beaten 12th behind Ariel in June.

Purton told stewards that Chill Kaka didn’t handle the wet slow track and might have come to the end of his preparation, while a post-race vet examination revealed the son of Shooting To Win had an epiglottic entrapment.

Yiu has given Chill Kaka two trials on the all-weather ahead of his return – a solid fourth and closing second.