3 minute read

South African jockey Derreck David concluded his short Singapore stint on Friday night the same way he began it - with a winner, Ares, coincidentally for the same connections as his first winner Poseidon a week ago.

Originally meant to ride for 1 ½ months, the reigning Mauritius champion jockey saw his stint shortened to only two meetings due to lengthy work permit procedures. With the Mauritius racing season beginning soon, the loyal rider had to fly back to the Indian Ocean island but managed to squeeze in one last Kranji meeting (granted by the Singapore Turf Club) for one last Singapore fling.

And how he did not let that chance to showcase his talent go begging with a gem of a ride aboard Ares that had even a noted hard-marker like trainer Cliff Brown heaping praise on him.

It was mainly the way David was able to find a spot off the rails barely 200m after jumping from the second worse barrier (12) that had the Australian handler and many observers giving the thumbs-up.

But that was not the only nifty piece of riding the 27-year-old pulled out from his bag of tricks.

Midway through the race, David decided to spear out wide to take up a closer spot on the heels of favourite Time Odyssey (Corey Brown). That inspiring move proved to be the clincher.

In one fell swoop, Ares ($41), who was coming off the back of two consecutive wins in inferior divisions and had only 51 kg on his back, swung the widest but with the greatest momentum on the rest of the 13-horse field.

Time Odyssey tried to angle his way out but his efforts were stymied by a heavy bump copped from War Time (Antonio da Silva) at the top of the straight, not to mention the steadier of 59kg soon started to anchor him down.

The $18 favourite was gone, but three or four horses could still claim top prize as they spread across the track. Mighty Warrior railed through with a quick burst but could not quite ping as his jockey Elione Chaves probably wanted, while his stablemate Titanium (Manoel Nunes) was taking a month of Sundays to wind up.

On the outside, Ares kept up his strong gallop to the wire, but his hopes looked to be dashed to the ground when Vlad Duric and Squire Osbaldeston suddenly burst through the pack with what looked like the sucker punch to seal the race.

But David did not give up on his mount who repaid his faith with a last lunge at the post to gain the verdict by a neck from Squire Osbaldeston with Bring Money Home (Shafiq Rizuan) third another half-a-length away. Mighty Warrior stuck on well for fourth another head away. The winning time was 1min 34.56secs for the 1600m on the Short Course of the $100,000 Open Benchmark 83 race over 1600m.

It felt a little like deja-vu with David weighing in in the same white and light blue fleur de lys colours of the Olympian Stable, and to the delight of his growing fan club in Singapore, he let in it won’t be improbable to see him donning these silks again in the near future.

“I’ve had a great record with Mr Cliff Brown and the Olympian Stable. Three rides for the Olympian Stable, two winners and one second (Athena on whom he unsuccessfully objected against the winner Reddot Rising),” said David.

“I’m in talks to maybe come back and ride Poseidon for them in the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge and the filly Athena in the two-year-old race. It would be a great opportunity but I would also like to come back here for a longer period.

“On the race itself, we jumped out well but they went early and I decided to slot him in behind. I was quite happy to sit behind but they went quick and I wanted to sit behind Time Odyssey.

“I sat on the fence and ran second in an earlier race and there was no way I would stay there again and that’s why I went around horses with a quick dash to try and keep the favourite in as long as possible, especially as I had only 51kgs and he had 59kgs.

“But then I realised he was already in trouble and I still had other horses to worry about. I kept at him and I thought Vlad’s horse would win but he put a long neck ahead on the line.”

Not one known for hyperboles, Brown described David’s ride as “sensational”.

“When does he come back? Gee that was a sensational ride,” said Brown.

“He drew 12 and after a furlong he was already on the fence. It was a great job.

“This horse was up in class but he has always shown ability. It was my fault that I rushed him a bit last prep, probably should have given him two less runs.

“Going forward, I think he is a horse who will keep doing well for us.”

An Irish-bred four-year-old by Approve, Ares was posting his third win in Singapore from 11 starts for stakes earnings close to the $170,000 mark for the Olympian Stable. Previously known as Hard N Sharp, he came to Singapore with a record of one win (1204m) from two starts in the United Kingdom.