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When the opportunity to ride surprise runner Flying Nemo in the $150,000 Group 2 Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic (1400m) this Saturday landed in his lap, jockey Amirul Ismadi grabbed it with both hands.
Flying Nemo 's regular race-partner, Simon Kok Wei Hoong, who rode him to three wins in four starts, had decided to stick with the Group 3 Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint (1200m) winner, January, in the upcoming second Leg of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge series.
While Amirul did not ride often for Flying Nemo's trainer Desmond Koh, his good friend off the track recommended him to the connections, and Amirul could not have been happier with their decision.
"Simon is riding January but he was very nice to recommend me for the ride on Flying Nemo. I also spoke to the owners (Nemo Stable) and they agreed to let me ride him," he said.
The Ipoh-born rider had been struggling since he returned to Singapore to ride in February last year. As a first-year senior rider at Kranji, he had only one winner from 78 rides to show for in the season, and that was Metal World, who happened to be Richard Lim's first career win as a trainer.
Comparatively, things seem a bit better for Amirul this year with three wins in 67 rides so far, but it still was not easy getting rides, much less a ride in the feature races, even if the son of former top jockey-turned-trainer Ismadi Ismail did win the Group 1 Perak Derby (2400m) aboard Littlebitofjoy in 2015 and 2016.
"Not easy because it's very competitive here and some people already formed connections that they retain, so I'm in a slightly difficult spot," said the jolly lad who made his career debut in Malaysia but came to Singapore seven years ago as an apprentice jockey with trainer Stephen Gray.
"But I do my best and ride trackwork for (trainers) Tim (Fitzsimmons), Alwin (Tan), James (Peters) and recently, I started to do trackwork for Desmond too.
"Hopefully this ride (Flying Nemo) can open up a few more doors for me."
Flying Nemo, a son of former New Zealand juvenile champion Vespa, was entered in the Singapore 3YO Classic after his last-start win in the Class 4 Division 2 race (1200m) on April 1. All his four runs to-date had been on the all-weather surface, with distances ranging from 1000 to 1200m.
Having skipped the first Leg of the Singapore 3YO series and being an unknown quantity on the turf and the 1400m, Flying Nemo may not stand out as much as some of his three-year-old peers like January, Bestseller and Takanini, but Amirul took note of Kok's feedback and also liked what he saw in Flying Nemo's previous runs.
"It's a question mark, but Simon said he still had something left in the tank though he raced forward the last time, so there's that indication there that he can take the longer trip," said Amirul.
"Simon also rode him in a grass gallop two weeks ago and from the way he worked, he should be able to handle the turf.
"I rode him last Friday morning and he felt great. I didn't ride him on Tuesday morning but I know he was supposed to do some light work.
"With barrier 13, I think we'll take it easy on him early and hopefully, he can produce a good finish in the straight.
"From his runs, I think he can be placed anywhere, but probably better midfield or to come from behind. But of course, I'll listen to what Desmond has to say on race day.
"I think January, Takanini and Coin Toss are the main dangers, but it would still be a close fight with this bunch. I rate him a chance.
"Even if he's small in size (about 430kgs) like Littlebitofjoy was, this horse has a good turn of foot and a really big heart.
"It's my dream to win one (Group race) in Singapore but be it a Class 5 or a feature race, I do my best all the same."
Among his seven rides on the 12-card meeting, one ride that he thought stood a good chance in the lesser races was the Tan-trained Bizar Wins in the $30,000 Spanish Bay 2015 Stakes, a Class 5 Division 2 race (1100m).
"He's drawn a good gate (three) and he's a forward horse. Nothing much can go wrong," he said.