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When his name first appeared on a Singapore racecard last year, many thought a new Italian jockey had become the latest addition to the Kranji riding ranks.
Photo by Singapore Turf Club
P Dellorto was unmistakably Italian, but when the jockey showed up at the parade ring, he did not quite look like a Frankie Dettori or Mirco Demuro. Upon further probing it turned out his full name was Pregasam Dellorto, which ruled out any association with the land of spaghetti and Ferraris.
Born in Kajang in Selangor, the 25-year-old Malaysian Indian apprentice jockey cleared up the mystery about his exotic-sounding name, confirming it did not originate from any Italian lineage in his family history, but rather from his mechanic-father’s obsession with cars.
“My father has four sons and he named all of them after Alfa Romeo carburettors – Lorto, Solex, Weber and myself Dellorto,” said Dellorto (who is the third in the family) with a chuckle.
“He is crazy about cars and specialises in Alfa Romeos. It’s unusual and quite unique, but we’re all used to our names now.
“My cousin is (jockey) John Sundradas, and he’s the one who gave me the idea of becoming a jockey.
“I first went up to Ipoh to work for Stephen Cook, but I was not able to get my licence there. Then I came back to Kuala Lumpur and was apprenticed to Mohd Sukri.
“After that, I spent some time in Perth where I was attached to Neville Parnham. I then came to Kranji last year and was indentured to Sam Chua.”
Already a winner of five races from 81 rides in Perth, Dellorto opened his Kranji account on June 29, 2012, booting home Ninth Avenue for Chua. He rode another winner, Excellent Beauty, also prepared by Chua, on August 12 to bring up his final score at his first season to 2 wins and 11 placings from 113 rides.
Riding That’s Gold for trainer Mohd Yusof in Sunday’s $55,000 Class 4 race over 1000m, Dellorto notched his third win following a copybook frontrunning ride.
The Fasliyev seven-year-old opened up for a commanding break at the top of the straight and was never going to get beaten. Rough Dance (Matthew Kellady) was the only one to cut him back, whittling down the beaten margin for a second place to 1 ¼ lengths. Rock Art (Stephen Baster) ran third another 1 ¾ lengths away.
The winning time was 59.32secs.
“He was a bit slow to jump, but once I hunted him up, he rolled forward to sit quite comfortably on the fence,” said Dellorto.
“Turning for home, he was still in hand, and once I pushed, he started to pull away. I gave him a couple of cracks of the whip just to keep him focused.”
Yusof said That’s Gold, who showed promise at his first 10 runs in 2009-2010, even running second to smart sprinter Northern Lion after securing his maiden win in December 2009, was a horse which was not able to fully tap on his potential due to injury.
“He ran in good company at his first campaign but then he hurt his leg. He’s had to undergo an operation and has a screw in his off foreleg,” said Yusof.
“It’s taken a lot of patience to bring him back, but obviously, he’s not the same horse. His previous owner even sold him to me.
“It wasn’t a strong field today, but I’m glad he’s won again as that could give him his confidence back.”