3 minute read

Every morning after trackwork as the last Kranji horse walks off to a cooling bath, two young lads from the Daniel Meagher yard head out on their ponies.

Once their boxes are done and feed bins filled up, Fais Bajuri and Norrizuwan 'Wan' Ramli slip into their rubber riding boots and giddy-up. The two 23-year-olds syces are looking at a switch to trackriding.

Nothing too unusual as many track riders or even jockeys started off as stablehands first, except that the two Meagher boys are following a more structured course.

In fact, they have not been signed up, but had, after an agreement between Singapore Turf Club (STC) coach, ex-jockey Matthew Pumpa and Meagher, come in for a trial run of a pilot training scheme for track riders.

For eight weeks after trackwork, the former Racing Victoria coach has been putting the two 23-year-olds through their paces on starter hacks around the infield trotting track. Five other aspiring track riders are currently enrolled in a training course proper at the STC Riding Centre, with Fais and Wan joining as an "off-course" intake later.

"Dan's two boys are essentially doing the backend of the new STAR (Singapore Training Academy for Racing) trackriding course, which is in the last two months," said Pumpa.

"It's a system that I used in Victoria and we are testing it out here before we integrate it. For the fast four months, the trainees ride up at the Riding Centre and only come to us in the last two months.

"Fais and Wan are not part of the STAR programme but have been 'loaned' by Dan to test it out, and I must say, they have both done very well."

The pair had to pass an important milestone this week, a canter test on a real thoroughbred around the 'Hong Kong' track (sand track). Meagher lent one of his quietest racehorses, Walking Thunder, for the exercise.

While waiting for Pumpa's assessment, the inseparable friends keep encouraging each other in a new journey which they never really set out to do when they came to Kranji.

Due to his almost child-like size (he weighs 36kgs) and boyish face, Fais has long been mistaken as an apprentice jockey when he started off as a syce with trainer Lee Freedman last year.

The diminutive lad would just deal with the endless question "Are you a jockey?" with a smile, but seriously began to think about it when Meagher, whom he moved to in February, spoke to him.

That 'have a go, mate" talk was soon shared with Wan, a former zookeeper who has been with the Australian handler for 11 months, and who just like Fais, had never ridden a horse until two months ago.

"I'm enjoying track riding. I cantered on Walking Thunder for the first time yesterday (Wednesday), I still prefer Rory (retired Meagher horse), but it was okay," said Fais.

"I was glad Wan had his canter test today (Thursday), now we have to wait for the results. We both started at the same time, and I hope we can both pass."

Wan, who is heavier at 49kgs, is just as excited as his riding companion, even if it's taken a while to swap for those fleet-footed quadrupeds from his more slithery pets.

"I worked with many animals at the zoo, but snakes were my favourite," he said.

"I came to Kranji because it's near my place, but I also like horses now."

Meagher's assistant-trainer Danny Beasley, himself a former top jockey, praised the two lads on how they have taken to their career switch like a duck to water.

"They have never ridden a horse before, but it's amazing how they've been doing so well," he said.

"That brings me back to my first rides when I was apprenticed to Peter Maher in Wodonga. I fell off and had to get back on right away, it was tough.

"These two kids seem to connect so well with the horses. Fais for example can just get them to go right away, he's got good hands.

"They're lucky to be part of a new programme which is something similar to what's done in Victoria where Matty was the riding coach."

Pumpa said the course is tailored to the Singapore context, but trainers will also have to do their part to guide the STAR track riders when they graduate.

"The results are very encouraging, but it also depends on how the trainers continue to help and support them in their careers when they take them on board," said Pumpa, who knows the system very well for having ridden for a few seasons in Singapore in 2005 and 2007, racking up a total of 23 winners all-up.

"Similarly for Fais and Wan, Dan will have to keep guiding them if they want to continue in that direction. Maybe in a five years' time, one or two of them are good enough to become jockeys."