Rewind one year back, Singapore racing thought it had seen the back of that diabolical Year of COVID-19 that was 2020, some even suggesting 2021 couldn’t possibly get any worse.
Our naivety soon dawned on us. One year on, we're still not out of the woods - and we have finally realised and accepted that with the flip-flopping nature of this pandemic, making predictions is as complex as tipping a Class 5 winner.
For example, in September, just when we had a flicker of hope of an easing of restrictions and seeing our "long-lost friends", our dear patrons walking back through the Kranji gates, it was all snuffed out when new spikes and variants – with sci-fi-sounding names that would not put them out of place among Decepticons - sprang out of nowhere like a 100-1 bolter.
Regardless, the head honchos at the Singapore Turf Club won't stop being proactive. It's our only hope of combating the biggest challenge to have ever faced our industry, let alone humanity.
While the first year of dealing with this game changer was the school of hard knocks, that second year has been about riding out the storm.
Some have licked their wounds and moved on, but collateral damages, though not dropping like flies like last year, were still taking a hit. Like Australian trainers Lee Freedman and Cliff Brown who joined the backend of the mass exodus (mainly jockeys) from 2020, although they didn't directly blame COVID-19 for their sudden exits.
When jockeys Ruan Maia, Benny Woodworth and John Powell also left the Kranji scene earlier in the year - later, surprisingly joined by four-time Singapore champion jockey Vlad Duric - many would have assumed they were jumping on the bandwagon, but various other push and pull factors were at play. The first two were lured overseas to pursue their careers while Powell retired, and Duric returned to Australia for health reasons.
Racing is, however, often a game of swings and roundabouts. The sudden gap in the jockeys' room has inspired riding comebacks we would never have dreamed of in "peacetime".
Former champion apprentice Shafiq Rizuan, veteran Oscar Chavez and especially, Brazilian ace and former three-time Singapore champion jockey Manoel Nunes back in our midst certainly gave racing – and their own careers - a new impetus, but the biggest success story is without the shadow of a doubt Danny Beasley.
Though it was never about chasing the brass ring, what a fairytale journey it has turned out to be for the Australian jockey when he decided to come out of retirement!
Backed by good mate Daniel Meagher, and more importantly, backing himself 100%, the Golden Slipper-winning hoop has scooped up winners by the spades, with the undisputed feelgood story of 2021 - and another equally remarkable comeback story, but of the equine kind - Lim's Lightning, his star ride.
The triple Group 1 winner (Lion City Cup, Raffles Cup and Singapore Gold Cup) is a moral to be voted Singapore Horse of the Year while the other premierships also saw the crowning of meriting winners.
Kiwi trainer Mark Walker continues his love affair with "odd" seasons after adding a fourth title to the ones earned in 2015, 2017 and 2019 while his boom apprentice jockey Hakim Kamaruddin has run rings round both his peers and senior riders alike.
It would, however, be remiss of us not to salute those who came away with honourable mention. Sincerest apologies to those we may leave out but we can be excused for pinning our hopes on the next generation.
Australian trainer Tim Fitzsimmons, who has skyrocketed to fourth place on 33 winners after languishing at the other end at his first two barren years, and young Singaporean trainer Jason Ong (first among the locals in seventh spot on 26 winners) have both been churning out winners every other week, no doubt more towards the middle to lower class hierarchy of races, but winners all the same.
Hakim and Beasley were the headline acts in the riding ranks, but someone else did make some noise when she shattered that glass ceiling in the jockeys' room - newcomer Jerlyn Seow Poh Hui. While still learning her craft, the former apprentice school dropout has more than held her own as the only female rider against the male brigade with a decent haul of 15 winners and a fifth place on the apprentice log.
It's, however, in the most vital department of the industry that new blood or new saviours have been lacking – the horse himself.
Lim's Lightning is from the old guard, while the likes of Hard Too Think, Celavi, Kharisma, Starlight and Lim's Kosciuszko were some of the few breaths of fresh air among the young bucks, but former vintage crops have unfortunately felt a bit stale.
Top guns like Top Knight, Big Hearted, Grand Koonta or Fame Star are not galloping machines that can race at the highest level forever, hence more than ever, that dire need for fresh legs, a changing of the guard that has become imperative. Unfortunately, that's where the COVID-19 situation and the uncertainties hanging over our heads like a sword of Damocles have closed a few wallets.
The racing calendar for the next financial year 2022/2023 is out. Some may feel the status quo is just like treading water, but for the Club to still commit to 47 race meetings and 10 feature races with the same level of prizemoney (still regarded as very competitive when compared with other racing jurisdictions around the world) in spite of lower turnovers to pre-COVID-19 years, it has sent a clear message Singapore racing will survive against all odds.
Some owners may still have cold feet, but there are already some timid signs of purse strings being released. The licensing of three new expat jockeys in Ronnie Stewart, Derreck David and Jake Bayliss is an encouraging step to restoring some normality, while some have already joined the dots that after Nunes' late, late show of eight winners at the last four meetings, next year will be the popular Brazilian jockey's "second coming", along with a more fervent rush to the betting windows.
Except that, right now, the shutters are still down on those places where thousands used to change hands every raceday.
That is another floodgate which would see higher cash flow sluice into our coffers, but until the authorities give the green light to bring the crowds back, we will still miss our Kranji uncles (and aunties) for a while.
As mentioned earlier, we don't know what tomorrow will bring, but with global vaccination making good headway towards an endemic approach, we can only keep our fingers crossed 2022 will be better.
In the meantime, keep that crystal ball away, and here is a quick recap (compiled by Sharon Zhang) of the past season to fill your stockings with racing memories – some happy, some less, but which, everybody will agree, gave it another surreal feel into that second year in the throes of that terrible pandemic.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2022, everyone!
JANUARY
January 3 – Brazilian jockey Ruan Maia kicks off the season with a treble courtesy of Per Incrown, Super Invincible and Surpass Natural, but the early calls of the next 2021 top dog were to prove shortlived. Surpass Natural took out the highlight of the day for trainer Jerome Tan, the Happy New Year Stakes, a Kranji Stakes A race substituting the traditional kick-off feature, the Group 3 New Year Cup, and run over the same Polytrack 1200m trip.
January 9 – Relicensed jockeys Troy See and Oscar Chavez make winning comebacks with Beer Garden and In All His Glory respectively.
January 16 – Local trainer Alwin Tan bags his 500th win at Kranji with The Archer. Long-time Gold Stable horse owner and breeder, and construction firm Woh Hup chairman Yong Nam Seng dies at the age of 92.
January 23 – After a successful 12-year career in Singapore, trainer Cliff Brown bids the Lion City farewell with a double (Fireworks and Gold Kingdom). Similarly, Hong Kong-bound Ruan Maia ends his Singapore stint on a winning note with Hyde Park and Asaad.
January 30 – Australian Hall of Fame trainer Lee Freedman wraps up his four-year Singapore stint with two winners, My Big Boss and Augustano.
FEBRUARY
February 7 & 13 – Apprentice jockey Hakim Kamaruddin brings up his first four-timer, (Federation, Latent Power, Sacred Rebel and Clarton Supreme). The writing was on the wall the Kelantan-born rider was in for a big year when he repeated the feat one week later.
February 20 – Jockey Benny Woodworth rides at his last Kranji meeting before taking up a Mauritius contract.
February 27 – Former jockey Danny Beasley, who retired from race-riding in 2017 to join trainer Daniel Meagher as assistant trainer, makes a winning comeback at his second meeting aboard Lim's Unique.
MARCH
March 14 –Malaysian apprentice jockey Winston Cheah Wei Wen packs up and returns to Malaysia after failing to ride a winner in eight months.
APRIL
April 20 – Filipino owner Rodolfo Mendoza of Rocket Star fame passes away.
April 24 – Trainer Daniel Meagher, son of former Kranji trainer John Meagher, captures his first-ever Group 1 race in the Lion City Cup (1200m), the country's premier sprint race with Lim's Lightning who was ridden by jockey Danny Beasley. From a Mark Walker five-timer, Axel gives Walker's new apprentice jockey Jerlyn Seow Poh Hui her first win in 72 rides and Elliot Ness gave the Kiwi mentor his 600th winner here. On the other hand, veteran Australian jockey John Powell bows out of Singapore. The last of his 640 winners in Singapore was Golden Flame for trainer Donna Logan on March 27.
MAY
May 11 – Scott Bailey, former jockey and assistant-trainer to trainer Shane Baertschiger, makes a switch to media as racing presenter/race caller with the Kranji broadcast team.
May 15 – Kranji mourns the passing of former Kranji-based Mauritian jockey Nooresh Juglall after he died from multiple injuries sustained in a horror race fall accident at the Champ de Mars racecourse in Mauritius. Another Kranji jockey Benny Woodworth was involved in this accident but was lucky to escape with only a broken elbow.
May 21 – South African chief vet Dr Koos van den Berg retires after 15 years of service at the Singapore Turf Club. Dr Aileen Sandosham is appointed as the covering head.
May 22 – Trainers, jockeys and officials gather at the parade ring of the Singapore Turf Club to observe one minute of silence in memory of jockey Nooresh Juglall who rode here for six years from 2014 to 2019. On a brighter note, New Zealand trainer Donna Logan clinches her first-ever Group 1 victory in Singapore with stable transfer Minister and jockey A'Isisuhairi Kasim in the Kranji Mile (1600m). Local jockey Noh Senari retires after years of wasting and a back injury took their toll on him. At his last three rides at Kranji, there was, however, to be no fairytale ending. The gifted jockey bows out the winner of 114 races in seven years of riding.
JUNE
June 5 – Trainer Tim Fitzsimmons bags the first treble (Don De La Vega, Boomba and Relentless) of his young training career since branching out on his own in 2019. All three winners were ridden by fellow Australian jockey Vlad Duric. Comeback jockey and former three-time Singapore champion jockey Manoel Nunes and two local jockeys Shafiq Rizuan and Mark Ewe are granted licences for the remaining season.
June 27 – Trainer Michael Clements and apprentice jockey Simon Kok Wei Hoong combine with Tiger Roar to take out the Group 3 Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint (1200m).
JULY
July 3 – The Steven Burridge-trained Mr Malek wins his first Group race in the Group 2 Stewards' Cup (1400m) under jockey A'Isisuhairi Kasim. Trainer Hideyuki Takaoka, who started training at Kranji in 2002, clocks in his 500th winner in Singapore with Matsuribayashi.
July 10 – After being away from the local circuit for three and a half years, jockey Shafiq Rizuan makes a winning comeback at his second meeting aboard pick-up ride Man Of Mystery, who is trained by his former master Mark Walker.
July 16 – Nine-time Singapore champion trainer Laurie Laxon passes away in his sleep back home in New Zealand at the age of 75. The Melbourne Cup-winning trainer (Empire Rose in 1988) bowed out of Kranji in 2017 after 17 years of training the winner of 1,263 races including most of the major Group races.
July 18 – Jockey Shafrizal Saleh earns his first Group win accolade with the Michael Clements-trained Starlight in the Group 2 Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic (1400m).
July 25 – Up-and-coming stayer Hard Too Think springs a surprise in the Group 1 Singapore Derby (1800m) to give jockey Marc Lerner his second Group 1 success in Singapore after Makanani in the 2019 Raffles Cup, and trainer Stephen Gray a second Derby win after Lim's Prestige in 2007.
AUGUST
August 8 - Horse owner Dr Omie Rangabashyam dies of a heart attack at the age of 55 in his native India. The most notable horse to race in his rainbow silks was the David Hill-trained Beau Brummell, who won the 2009 Group 3 Merlion Trophy.
August 29 – After nine years as Singapore Turf Club starter, John Pepe sends his last horses on their way at Kranji. He will continue his career at Racing Victoria in Melbourne.
SEPTEMBER
September 4 – Former Singapore superstar Inferno wins his first race in Australia as The Inferno in the Group 2 McEwen Stakes for former Kranji trainer Cliff Brown at Moonee Valley in Melbourne.
September 18 – After a resounding victory in the Group 1 Lion City Cup (1200m) in April, Lim's Lightning goes on to stamp his authority in another Group 1 race, the Raffles Cup (1600m) for trainer Daniel Meagher and jockey Danny Beasley.
OCTOBER
October 16 – Singapore Derby winner Hard Too Think asserts his superiority in what used to be the second Leg of the Singapore Triple Crown series, the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (1800m) after favourite Lim's Lightning was scratched from the race (minor injury from a freak accident) that morning. Trainer Stephen Gray also had Oxley Road taking out the Group 2 McCafe Caulfield Sprint (1000m) at Caulfield that day, while jockey Marc Lerner celebrated his first four-timer aboard Miracle, Hyde Park, Siam Warrior and Hard Too Think.
October 20 – Former three-time Singapore champion jockey Manoel Nunes begins his quarantine in Singapore and gets ready for his racing comeback since his last hit-and-run visit in 2019, where he won one race aboard Limited Edition.
October 21 –Four-time Singapore champion jockey Vlad Duric decides to call it quits in Singapore, returning to Australia to continue his riding career. Duric leaves with a record of 617 winners in Singapore, including 30 in feature races, with 12 at Group 1 level.
NOVEMBER
November 6 – The Alwin Tan-trained Bizar Wins hands three-time Singapore champion jockey Manoel Nunes his first win at only his third ride of his second stint in Singapore. On the same day, Singapore Turf Club race caller Nicholas Child calls his last race at Kranji and heads to the Hong Kong Jockey Club as a producer/broadcaster.
November 14 – Though Lim's Lightning missed the Queen Elizabeth II Cup through injury, he answers any doubts about his stamina with a sterling win in the Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup (2000m). He becomes the first horse to ever win the Lion City Cup (1200m)-Singapore Gold Cup double in the 48 years the two races have co-existed at both the old Bukit Timah and Kranji racecourses.
November 20 – Jockey Manoel Nunes boots home his 500th winner at Kranji with the Donna Logan-trained Good Fight, before going two better with Intrepid and Superior Coat to bring up a treble.
November 24 – Among 32 licences issued by the Singapore Turf Club to jockeys and apprentice jockeys in the season of 2022, eight are new licences. They are Ronnie Stewart and Jake Bayliss from Australia, and Derreck David from South Africa as three expatriate jockeys, two former licensees Benny Woodworth and Amirul Ismadi from Malaysia, as well as three new apprentice jockeys Akmazani Mazuki, Faiz Khair and Fahmi Rosman.
November 27 – The 48th meeting of the year brings the curtains down on the 2021 season, with Celavi taking the honours in the last feature race of the year, the Group 3 Merlion Trophy (1200m). Trainer Mark Walker takes home his fourth Singapore champion trainer title on 66 winners, eight more than reigning champion Michael Clements (58). Walker's only winner on the day, King Arthur, also seals the title of Singapore champion jockey for Hakim Kamaruddin, who had already secured the apprentice jockey title a few weeks earlier. He becomes the first apprentice jockey to land both titles since Benny Woodworth in 1995. A later win on the Donna Logan-trained Eagle Eye takes his final score to 59, seven more than Beasley's.
DECEMBER
December 5 – Liver transplant surgeon Dr Tan Kai Chah dies at the age of 68 in Hainan, China. Dr KC Tan, as he was better known, raced 2009 Singapore Derby winner and Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge Triple Crown winner Jolie's Shinju as well as 2014 Queen Elizabeth II Cup winner Wild Geese.
December 7 – Michael Clements' Malaysian apprentice jockey Chew Yong Yuan dies of throat cancer. The 26-year-old had yet to ride at Kranji but rode five winners in New Zealand before he was due to return to Singapore in August.
