Leading apprentice Laqdar Ramoly capped off a memorable day in the saddle at Belmont on July 9 when not only outriding his claim, but also guiding Nerodio to victory in the $125,000 Listed Beaufine Stakes.

Laqdar Ramoly, 26, is a remarkable story having been born and raised in Mauritus and having no family connection to horses before a rapid rise saw him become a star of the apprentice jockey ranks in a foreign country.

The son of a builder and a stay-at-home housewife, Ramoly recalls the moments that planted the seed for what would later become a somewhat surprising career choice.

"My uncle lived next to the racetrack in Mauritus and during school holidays I used to go there," he said.

"The first time I saw horses I was fascinated by them.

"My mum is short and I was short – when I was 18 I was around 38 or 40 kilos – and I was good at sport and athletics so I thought I would give riding a go.

"Dad said to me, 'are you sure you want to do this?'.

"He said, 'this will be your career so if you choose this, you have to stick to it'.

"I thought I would try it and see how it goes."

Ramoly signed up as an apprentice jockey and rode in trackwork and limited trials before a meeting with Racing and Wagering Western Australia jockey coach and fellow Mauritian, John Claite.

Neither Ramoly or any of his immediate family had ever been to Australia before, however, he soon made the bold decision to pack his bags and cross the Indian Ocean to become apprenticed to Hall of Fame Ascot trainer, Neville Parnham, in March 2019.

"Jason Claite was in Mauritus and helped get Keshaw (Dhurun) and I over to give us an opportunity," Ramoly said.

"Keshaw came three weeks after me because his paperwork wasn't completed.

"It felt quite normal when I got here.

"Brandon Louis was here for around two weeks and he helped me settle in and showed me where everything was and introduced me to people."

A natural lightweight with the ability to ride at 52 ½ kilos, Ramoly's has long been lauded by those within the industry for his strong work ethic and dedication to his career.

Asked how he initially found the rigours of being an apprentice jockey in Australia, Ramoly says the hard work never bothered him.

"It just came naturally to me," he said.

"Since I was a young age if I was interested in something I would put my all into it.

"I just like to work and learn and I think the more you work, the more you learn.

"Back home I would wake up early and work and we do the same here, so it wasn't a problem to work.

"The only problem here was that it's colder than home."

In what was supposed to only be a 12-month stint in Australia, the ramifications of COVID-19 and border closures meant Ramoly was unable to return home.

Now the best part of three-and-a-half years later, Ramoly still hasn't been back to Mauritus or seen his family since he first left home to embark on his overseas venture.

It's been a testing time for Ramoly and his family after such a long time apart, however, he says they have been right behind him the whole way through.

"My family watch every race meeting," Ramoly said.

"My brother watches all my replays then calls me.

"When I first came here I was only supposed to stay for one year and I had to tell my mum, 'one more year'.

"We kept waiting and waiting and then I said, 'one more year' again.

"At the end she knew it was better and safer for me here."

Ramoly had his first ride in a race when finishing second aboard the Parnham-trained Fascination at Toodyay on September 29, 2019 and rode his first winner on Ray Malpass's Mythical Trust at Moora a fortnight later.

Only 22 months later he was crowned WA's Champion Apprentice after riding 43 metropolitan winners in the 2020/21 season, some 26 ½ more than the next apprentice.

Fast-forward less than 12 months again and Ramoly not only looks set to land back-to-back titles, but also outrode his metropolitan claim to mark the completion of a successful apprenticeship.

"I thought it would have come earlier," he said.

"I ran a lot of seconds and I thought I may have been too impatient to outride my claim and was putting more pressure on myself.

"When I kept running second I started to think, 'it will take me ages to outride my claim'.

"After that, I thought I would just take things normally and see how it goes."

Ramoly went into Belmont's Beaufine Stakes meeting on July 9 needing only one winner to outride his claim.

After two second placings early on the card – including a nose defeat aboard Bold Success – he finally cracked it when lobbing one-out and one-back from barrier seven with race-favourite Frigid and pulling away late to win the Seacorp Handicap for trainer Michael Grantham.

"I thought I would have outridden it earlier on with Bold Success," Ramoly said.

"When I hit the front I didn't know Reliable Star was on my outside and then we got done on the line.

"I knew Frigid was a good horse so I just had to get her in a good spot and when we got there I thought, 'it's over now'.

"It was a big relief."

Two races later saw the running of the Listed Beaufine Stakes and Ramoly helped Nerodio, a Playing God six-year-old prepared by Stephanie Bakranich, to become only the second horse in history to win the sprinting feature in consecutive years.

Supported from $11 to $6.50 late in betting before jumping from barrier 11 in a 12-horse field, Ramoly settled Nerodio three-wide-with-cover and the gelding unleashed a powerful finish to reel in race-leader Mervyn ($21) and score by a neck.

The victory not only boosted Nerodio's prize-money earnings to $440,000, but incredibly kept his undefeated record at the Belmont 1000m circuit intact following six attempts.

"I was quite confident after I worked him on the Tuesday morning," Ramoly said.

"When it started raining on the Saturday I thought it would be spot on for him and the wet track would give me an advantage.

"It was the same as the year before, he drew wide so I tried to get cover and follow the moving line and in the straight the horse would give me a good kick.

"Stephanie has done a really good job with the horse.

"First-up in the Roma Cup he ran fourth to Elite Street and then we went to the 1400 and he gave a good kick but then stopped, so she freshened him up and he was spot on."

Ramoly is aware that his achievements over the past two years would not have been possible without the assistance he's received from fellow jockeys, trainers and owners across the state.

He pays special mention to his biggest supporters who have helped him get to where he is now.

"I've formed a good association with Neville, Jim Taylor and also Sean Casey," Ramoly said.

"Jim has given me lots of opportunities and Sean has put me on in good races like the Karrakatta and Sires'.

"In Kalgoorlie I've been supported by trainers like David Smith, John Mason and Rickie Brown.

"I have to thank everyone that has supported me, especially my boss and the jockey coaches John Claite, Peter Hall and Jeremy Hustwitt.

"My family and friends have also been a big support."

Whilst he'll never say never, for now it looks like Perth will be Ramoly's home.

"I am trying to get a new visa so I can go to Mauritus and come back easily," he said.

"I just have to extend my working visa because if I go now I'm not sure I'd be allowed back here.

"I'll go home and see my family and will try get them to come here for a holiday.

"There are better opportunities and a better lifestyle in Australia, particularly when you're a jockey.

"I'm happy here."