Narrow championship leader Britney Wong Po-ni and Zac Purton will resume their fight for the unofficial dirt premiership at Sha Tin on Saturday.

Wong, 26, has been the woman to beat on Sha Tin’s all-weather this season, posting eight winners from 58 rides on the surface.

That accounts for 44 per cent of her winners for the entire campaign and she has rides in both of Saturday’s dirt races as she looks to extend her narrow one-win lead with six dirt races remaining this season.

On paper, things are made easier for Wong thanks to Purton only riding in one of the two races, but the champion jockey has the best chance of the pair thanks to topweight Fun N Fun Together in the Class Four HKU Faculties Of Dentistry And Social Sciences Handicap (1,200m).

The Charm Spirit galloper was a last-start winner over course and distance, with Purton dictating matters to a tee off the front to get him off the mark at the 11th attempt.

He is now 7lb higher in the ratings as a result, but he remains unexposed and he is drawn better than last time in stall five.

In the same race, Wong also rides a last-start course and distance winner in Patch Of Watch, who is going for a third victory on the dirt.

The Manfred Man Ka-leung-trained five-year-old routed his rivals on wet dirt four starts ago and returned to winning ways with another clinical performance last month.

Wong got to the lead soon after the start and increased the tempo on the turn into the home straight, with the pair soon kicking into an unassailable lead.

She is unlikely to get the same luxuries here with Purton almost certain to either tackle her for the lead or sit on her shoulder, but with rain forecast and Patch Of Watch certain to relish it, that does level the playing field.

The other dirt race on Saturday’s card, the Class Three HKU Jockey Club Student Villages Handicap (1,200m), will give Wong the opportunity to snag an unanswered winner with Purton on the sidelines.

She rides Chris So Wai-yin’s Justify galloper Mask Rider, who has raced exclusively on the dirt in six local starts since joining So from Australia.

That is no surprise, as he was a five-length synthetic winner at the Gold Coast in September 2023 and clearly relishes the surface.

He made a winning local debut under Keagan de Melo over course and distance in January but has found life tougher since an 8lb rise for the comfortable success.

In his past two starts he has been ridden by Wong but has struggled from wide draws, finishing sixth on both occasions.

Drawing barrier four will help on this occasion and a 2lb drop in the weights is another positive.

The business end of the season has been made much more complicated for Wong, who will miss the meetings on June 28 and July 5 due to suspension.

The 10lb apprentice is seven winners away from losing her initial claim thanks to a brilliant first season in Hong Kong where she has ridden 18 winners so far.