3 minute read
Promising apprentice jockey Simon Kok Wei Hoong is back in Singapore and looking forward to restarting his riding career by applying what he has learned during his three-month stint in Tasmania.
Kok was sent to the Hobart training partnership of Leon, Dean and Trent Wells in mid-December through the Singapore Turf Club overseas placement scheme for apprentice jockeys.
The 23-year-old rode four winners (first one came on January 9 at his 22nd ride on a horse called Geegees Rock Opera at Devonport) and 20 placings from 77 rides around the four tracks in Tasmania, Elwick, Launceston, Devonport and Longford.
He certainly derived plenty of benefit from the exposure to a totally different jurisdiction where racing takes place a lot more frequently than the twice-a-week race meetings at Kranji.
The note was, however, soured by a barrier mishap at his penultimate meeting in Launceston on February 27. Kok hurt his left ankle at his first ride when his mount reared in the barriers and he was subsequently stood down from his remaining riding engagements.
As he would not have been able to ride at his last meeting in Tasmania, Kok had to cut short his stay by one week, returning to his uncle’s home (where he lives) in Johor Bahru on April 2 to have his injury treated.
Luckily, it was not too serious as Kok was able to get the medical green light to resume trackwork riding for his Kranji master Steven Burridge on Friday, and has already been booked for his first ride next weekend – his pet horse Autumn Rush.
“I’m happy to be back in Singapore. I miss riding here,” said Kok, who rode 16 winners to finish fifth on the log at his first year of riding at Kranji.
“But I did enjoy my stay in Tasmania. I got a lot of rides and support, mainly from Mr Leon Wells and his sons Dean and Trent, and their main owner, the Geegee stables for Paul and Elizabeth Geard.
“It was great to learn from so many different tracks. Launceston is the most tactical with its 250m home straight.
“The races are competitive. I’ve learned how to ride tighter in a race.
“My riding master Stephen Maskiell guided me a lot. He was always at the racecourse, would correct any mistake I made and made me join an apprentice class twice a week.
“Craig Newitt is one of the best jockeys in Tasmania and he also gave me some advice when he could.”
Kok said he was happy with his score even if he felt he was only gaining momentum just before he left.
“I can’t complain with four winners even if it could have been better if I had stayed longer,” said the Ipoh-born equestrian-trained rider.
“It’s only towards the end of my stay that trainers started to get to know me.”
On the barrier incident that marred the ending a little, Kok said those things happened.
“Whether it’s Tasmania, here or anywhere, these things form part of the life of a jockey,” he said.
“The horse just reared, but luckily, I only had my left ankle chipped. I did most of my physiotherapy in Johor Bahru.
“After two weeks, I wore a moon boot, two weeks later, I had a follow-up in Singapore and two weeks later, I was cleared to ride.”
One of the horses Kok couldn’t wait to be reunited with was his first career winner (January 23, 2018) Autumn Rush (partnered him to half of his six wins at Kranji), whom his boss has already booked him on next Sunday in a Class 2 race over 1100m.
“It was a good feeling to ride him again this morning. I’ve been following his career since I left,” he said.
“He won once with Krisna (Thangamani), finished second once with Noh (Senari) and his last race was pretty good. He ran on well.”
Burridge was glad his apprentice jockey had returned to the fold.
“I’m sure Simon has learned a lot from his time in Tasmania,” said the Australian handler.
“I watched his races on video, and I could see he was a lot more aggressive as a rider. Thank goodness his foot injury wasn’t too serious and let’s hope he will pick up where he left off here.”
Kok brought up the last of his 16 winners at Kranji on December 7 when he scored aboard the Stephen Gray-trained Billy Britain in a Class 4 Non Premier race over the Polytrack mile.
Two-time Singapore champion apprentice jockey Wong Chin Chuen currently leads the ladder on nine winners, but Kok is not daunted by the task of making up for lost time.
“There is still a long way to go in the season. I’ll just try my best to catch up with the leaders,” said Kok.