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Without fanfare, trainer Leslie Khoo saddled his 300th Singapore winner with Right Is Right last Sunday.
For good measure, the former top-flight jockey added one more win in the last race with Fastnet Dragon to bring up his tally to 301 wins and his 2015 score to 30 wins and sit third on this year's leaderboard, nine shy of leader Mark Walker.
In terms of season’s best, given we are now around the halfway mark, it is more or less on par with his best score to-date, 66 winners in the 2011 season when he was a serious challenger to Patrick Shaw before he settled for second spot, losing by only 12 winners to the South African handler.
But this year’s performance is in many ways similar to that cracking year. Khoo was out of the starting blocks like a shot and has kept up the same tempo since.
“It’s great to have won 300 races already,” said the likeable trainer whose first win at Kranji came with Joe And Jayzeeca on July 4, 2008.
“I’m having a very good season, compared to last year when my horses had many problems. It’s also thanks to the owners who have invested a lot in new young horses.
“Right Is Right was a bit of a surprise but she’s been improving and TH (Teck Huat) Koh rode her well. That was her first win for us.
“Fastnet Dragon was more of an expected win and he again delivered. This horse showed ability from Day 1 and has now won three in a row.”
Khoo, who saddled 147 Malaysian-based winners at his first stint as a trainer in Ipoh (2001 to 2007), hoped his yard can keep up the same winning trend so the 400 milestone does not take too long to come round.
But if there was one wish the 61-year-old hoped would come true one day is that first Group success he had been chasing in his eight years as a trainer at Kranji, especially the race that also eluded him as a jockey, the Singapore Gold Cup (2200m).
“I hope I can win a Group race as a trainer soon,” said Khoo.
“As a jockey, I’ve won most of the big races in Singapore and Malaysia, but the one race that I never won and wanted so badly to win was the Gold Cup.
“I hope I can win it one day as a trainer, but I must get the right horse for such a tough race.”
On the same note, the 300-win mark was by coincidence achieved by Khoo’s Australian colleague Cliff Brown two days earlier on Friday with Any Rumour. The no-nonsense handler just took it as another win, but was also pleased with his journey in Singapore since relocating from rural Narbethong in Victoria in 2008.
“It’s been a great ride. Hopefully, there will be more wins,” said Brown.