3 minute read

Comeback apprentice jockey Azhar Rasid got off the mark at his fourth ride this year after the relatively well-supported Ben Wade ($24) romped in to an easy three-and-a-half length win in the $30,000 Speedy Cat 2013 Stakes (1200m) on Saturday.

Trained by his master Tim Fitzsimmons, the six-year-old son of Ferlax almost kicked off a fairytale start to Azhar's resurrected career when he ran home late two starts ago in a similar Class 5 race (1100m), albeit beaten into second behind David's Sling.

The 32-year-old apprentice jockey anticipated the win this time and was overjoyed when it materialised at his one and only ride for the day.

"I think I'm going to cry because I'm so happy," said the Singaporean apprentice jockey who stays in Woodlands with his family that are not involved in racing.

"I want to thank my boss, Tim, who gave me this opportunity to ride the horse. He prepped the horse very well. I also want to thank the stable staff who worked very hard.

"He (Ben Wade ) jumped positive and we were on the pace. At the straight, I had to niggle at him a bit but he responded very well and won easily.

"He was my first ride (on January 14), but I told myself to enjoy myself at my first ride.

"But I expected him to win today because he's drawn gate two and my four-kilo claim can help him."

My Boss (Amirul Ismadi) ran second, a head in front of Lim's Shot (Shafrizal Saleh) in the Class 5 Division 2 race. The winning time was 1min 12.24secs over the 1200m on the Polytrack.

Ben Wade's third win in 33 starts has taken his earnings to a tad over $90,000 for the Bulldogs Racing Stable.

Azhar made his riding debut at Kranji seven years ago when he was indentured to trainer Stephen Gray. He yielded two seconds from 21 rides in one year of riding, till January 8, 2017 when he last rode on the Kuah Cheng Tee-trained Super Big.

He switched back to working as a senior track rider for Gray four months later and continued doing so till 2019, after which he left the racing industry.

"Back when I rode trackwork for Stephen in the mornings as a senior track rider, I also worked as a part-time food delivery rider in the afternoons," said Azhar, who started off as a syce with former Kranji trainer Basil Marcus before he graduated from the Singapore Training Academy for Racing (STAR) Programme to work as a track rider for another ex-Kranji handler, Mok Zhan Lun.

"After I left (in 2019), I switched to being a full-time food delivery rider. But then, I realised I missed racing so much. I liked horses the first time I saw them at the zoo when I was young, and I thought I wanted to ride them someday.

"It was until when my track rider friend Kali, who works with Tim, asked me to join them as a (senior) track rider again."

Azhar re-joined the industry under Fitzsimmons' tutelage since February 2021 and worked hard before he was granted a six month's apprentice jockey's licence again this year.

The soft-spoken lad was determined to do better than before, and he also expressed gratitude to those who helped him.

"I am definitely more mature than seven years ago when I first rode in the races," he said.

"I kept improving my skills by practising on the mechanical horse for three times a week. I want to thank my riding master (cum ex-jockey), Noh Senari, for his advice during those sessions.

"We also watched video replays together to understand the races better. Besides him, CC (Chin Chuen) Wong also gave me advice during trackwork and I thank him for that.

"I am more confident after my first win, and hopefully, I can improve myself and keep working hard."

Fitzsimmons was delighted with Azhar's first win.

"I'm very happy for him and he gave him (Ben Wade) a perfect ride. He deserved it as he's a really hardworking worker," said the Australian handler, who pulled off a brace with outsider Ace Soverign ($100) in the $50,000 Infantry 2017 Stakes, a Class 4 Division 2 race (1400m) three races earlier.

"I own the horse, so I told him to just relax, have fun and not to have any pressure.

"He's already had his first win from three rides for me, and he rode really well at his last two rides (for me) too."

Other Racing News