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With leading jockey Manoel Nunes suspended yet again, trainer Leslie Khoo has had no other choice but to find a replacement jockey for Speedy Cat at his upcoming Korean raid.
Nunes, who only just returned from a lengthy four-meeting ban for careless riding, has again incurred the wrath of the Singapore Stewards for the same offence on Sunday. This time around, the Brazilian jockey was rubbed out for three days for causing interference aboard Splice in Sunday’s Race 3.
With Stewards taking into consideration Nunes was already booked to ride at this weekend’s Kranji meetings, the suspension will take effect from August 25 to September 5 instead, ruling him out of the Korean ride aboard Speedy Cat, who with Trudeau and El Padrino, is one of three Singapore representatives invited to race at the inaugural Asia Challenge Cup (1400m) at Seoul Racecourse on August 31.
The moment Khoo heard about Nunes’ latest suspension, he immediately went looking for a new rider, eventually giving the plum job to jockey Danny Beasley, albeit the Australian has never sat on Speedy Cat at any of his 35 starts.
“There were a few names I did consider, but after discussing with the owner Mr Lim Bok Hoo, he said he preferred to go with Danny because of his experience riding overseas and in the big races,” said Khoo.
“Danny will get his first ride on Speedy Cat in a barrier trial tomorrow. I will try pacifiers on the horse as there is a lot of kickback from the sand track in Seoul, and see how he handles it.”
The three Singapore contenders are scheduled to leave Singapore on August 22, followed five days later by their trainer and connections.