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Nurshahril Nordin’s mother thought for a long time her son worked as a security guard but the secretive apprentice jockey said she was not upset when she knew the truth and would still be proud of him after he scored his first career win on Friday night.
The 26-year-old boy from Choa Chu Kang last worked in a security company but switched jobs after chancing upon an ad. It was the Singapore Training Academy for Racing (STAR) programme advertisement looking for new recruits to become jockeys.
With no prior background in racing, let alone any relatives or friends involved in that industry, Nurshahril still decided to give it a go when he realised he ticked most boxes, especially in terms of weight and age.
After five tough years learning the craft of race-riding first with Mok Zhan Lun and only this year with Alwin Tan, Nurshahril does not regret the move, more so when his hard work has now been rewarded with a relatively early first win at only his 18th ride aboard Tropical Forest in the $35,000 Class 5 Division 2 race over 1200m.
Though his riding style is still rough around the edges, the young man could not be faulted for giving Tropical Forest, a rising 10-year-old he knows well, every chance in the run.
Travelling in the slipstream of the leader Real Goodman (John Sundradas) from the start, Tropical Forest ($77) was given his head at the top of the straight. The grey galloper hit the front and with Nurshahril doing his very best to drive him home, they hit the line first with one length to spare from Real Goodman.
Browne’s Anatomy (Oscar Chavez) circled the field from the 600m with a searching run but could not quite get on with the job to wind up third another half-length away. The winning time was 1min 13.69secs for the 1200m on the Polytrack.
“My mother didn’t know I joined the STAR programme. I knew nothing about racing, didn’t have anyone in the family or friends who are involved, but I saw the ad in The New Paper and thought I could give it a try as I loved animals and I was quite light,” said Nurshahril whose mother is a single parent, while he has two elder brothers, one a policeman and another a musician.
“But in the end, I did tell her I was a jockey and she’s been very supportive since. It was very tough compared to my previous job, but I have no regrets now.
“I’ve been waiting for that first win for a while now. I finished second on Swift early in January (3rd) and then finished third on that same horse (Tropical Forest), and I felt I was getting close to that first win.
“I’m so happy I won my first race tonight, especially with Tropical Forest, a horse I’ve known from the time I was with Mok as he used to be with him around three years ago when I was still a B apprentice jockey. He was caught wide the last time I rode him and still ran a nice third, so I was quite confident he could run well again tonight.
“I think I still need to improve on my riding, though, especially the pushing part. I’ve still got a long way to go but hopefully I will get more opportunities after that first win, which I would like to dedicate to my mother.”
One person who is definitely going to help Nurshahril with his future endeavours as a budding rider is Tan.
“He only joined us this year but he listens and is a hard worker. He sure deserves that first win,” said the current leading trainer.
“The rain seems to bring luck to my horses and local riders. I remember Black Bean and Mohd Zaki won when it was raining.
“Tropical Forest is a horse who is not getting any younger and he was actually booked to go to Malaysia but could not move after the Strangles isolation.
“He’s won and I will have to discuss with the owner what he wants to do with the horse, but for sure, we’ll enjoy the win tonight – both the horse’s and my apprentice’s.”
A nine-year-old son of Enforcer, Tropical Forest was at his eighth win from 67 starts for stakes earnings close to the $330,000 mark for connections.