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The list of jockeys and apprentice jockeys who have been granted licences by the Singapore Turf Club for the 2022 racing season are as follows:

(1) 1 January to 31 December 2022 (both dates inclusive) (12 months)

(2) 1 January to 30 June 2022 (both dates inclusive) (6 months)

All up, a total of 32 licences were issued, comprising seven expatriate jockey licences, 16 local jockey licences, and nine apprentice jockey licences.

Of the 32 licences, 24 are renewals and the remaining eight are new licences made up as follows:

• Three expatriate jockeys, Ronnie Stewart and Jake Bayliss from Australia, and Derreck David from South Africa.
• Two former Singapore Turf Club licensees from Malaysia, Benny Woodworth, who had to reapply after he was licensed for most of 2021 in Mauritius, and Amirul Ismadi.
• Three new apprentice jockeys, Akmazani Mazuki, Faiz Khair and Fahmi Rosman.

NEW SENIOR JOCKEYS

RONNIE STEWART

Australian jockey Ronnie Stewart, 38, is no stranger to Kranji racegoers having plied his trade in Singapore for six years from 2006 to 2011 when he always finished in the Top 10. His local riding highlights were his three Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup wins with El Dorado (2008, 2009 and 2011) and the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge with Jolie's Shinju.

Incidentally, the third Singapore Gold Cup win on El Dorado turned out to be his farewell ride in Singapore. He did return for a one-day visit in 2014, albeit without winning.

First based in Sydney where he was crowned champion apprentice jockey in the 2002-2003 season, Stewart then plied his trade in Adelaide and Newcastle after he left Kranji, and is now based in Brisbane. All up, he has ridden in excess of 800 winners in a career spanning 21 years.

This year, his lightweight status earned him the winning ride on Selino from the powerful Chris Waller yard in the Group 1 Sydney Cup, and also his first Melbourne Cup ride on the same horse seven months later, coming away with a creditable eighth-placed finish.

Besides Singapore and Malaysia, Stewart, who is married to ex-Kranji jockey Sheryl Cheam, also enjoyed successful stints in Macau and Mauritius.

He finished 16th in the 2020/21 Queensland metropolitan jockeys' premiership on 18 winners, and currently sits 16th on five winners on this year's premiership.

Stewart goes to scale at 50kgs.

DERRECK DAVID

South African jockey Derreck David, 33, is another former Kranj-based jockey, having spent one and a half season at Kranji in 2016 and 2017, riding 47 winners all-up.

While David was not successful at Group level in Singapore, he did win a sponsored race, the Racing Guide Classic aboard Poseidon at his very first ride.

A former South African champion apprentice jockey in 2009, David has exported his skills far and wide, from Zimbabwe to Dubai, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and mostly, Mauritius where he won the premiership in 2015 and finished runner-up to the late Nooresh Juglall in the 2020 season.

In total, the lightweight jockey has been riding for 17 years and has chalked up in excess of 800 winners, including seven at Group 1 level, in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mauritius. The highlights are Pierre Jourdan's two Legs of the Triple Crown, the Grade 2 Gauteng Guineas and the Grade 1 SA Classic in 2010, and the Grade 2 Charity Mile in 2011.

David goes to scale at 46kgs.

JAKE BAYLISS

Australian jockey Jake Bayliss, 27, will be at his first experience in Singapore. The Ipswich native was born in a racing family, with his two grandfathers both former trainers, father Jamie a former jockey and younger brother Regan a five-time Group 1-winning jockey who recently rode in Hong Kong.

Bayliss was first indentured to ex-Kranji trainer Mick Kent at Cranbourne, spending his first four formative years in Victoria. At the end of 2017, trainer Mike Moroney enticed him to New Zealand where he went on to ride three Group 1 winners - Volpe Veloce in the 2018 Railway Stakes, On The Rocks in the 2019 Herbie Dyke Stakes and Nicoletta in the 2019 NZ Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes.

In almost 10 years of riding, Bayliss has ridden in excess of 350 winners. He is now based in Queensland where he finished 40th in the 2020/21 Queensland metropolitan jockeys' premiership on four winners.

Bayliss goes to scale at 53kgs.

BENNY WOODWORTH

Benny Woodworth, 48, is returning to Singapore after cutting his 2021 Singapore season short in February to take up a contract in Mauritius.

Unfortunately, the Malaysian Singapore Permanent Resident injured himself in the tragic race fall that claimed former Kranji-based jockey Nooresh Juglall's life at the very first Mauritius race meeting in May. Woodworth was sidelined for four months with a fractured elbow, and only made his riding comeback in September. He has since ridden five winners in 48 rides.

As a former four-time champion apprentice jockey and one-time senior champion jockey on the Malayan Racing Association (MRA) circuit, Woodworth needs little introduction.

From his early days capturing the 1992 Singapore Derby aboard Peak Of Perfection X as an apprentice jockey for Malcolm Thwaites, Woodworth has gone on to add more silverware across both sides of the Causeway.

He did go through a quieter phase from around the late 2000s to the mid-2010s, during which time he also rode overseas intermittently, mainly in Mauritius where he was crowned champion jockey in 2008, and is still currently licensed, but he did have a revival in 2017 when he scooped up three Group races at Kranji – the Group 1 Singapore Guineas and Group 2 Chairman's Trophy with Forever Young, and the Group 3 El Dorado Classic with Secret Win.

With the new backing of champion trainer Mark Walker, Woodworth's momentum kept gathering into the next two years with victory in the 2018 Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup aboard Elite Invincible and a runner-up spot to Vlad Duric in the Singapore jockeys' premiership in 2019.

Other than Singapore, Malaysia and Mauritius, the well-travelled jockey has taken his saddle to eight other countries namely England, Australia, Macau, South Korea, Japan, Cyprus, China and Qatar. Some of his overseas highlights include the 2005 Macau Gold Cup aboard Rock N Roll Kid for his former master Thwaites and the 2007 Barbé Cup aboard Tabascorez in Mauritius.

Woodworth goes to scale at 53kgs.

AMIRUL ISMADI

Amirul Ismadi, 27, is the son of jockey-turned-trainer Ismadi Ismail and nephew of former Malaysian multiple-champion jockey Azhar Ismail.

The Ipoh-born lad began his apprenticeship in 2013 with trainers Evert van Breukelen and Kevin Coetzee before eventually transferring to his father. Amirul rode his first winner Rocket Express in April 2013.

With 33 winners under his belt, Amirul then moved down South to trainer Stephen Gray at Kranji at the end of 2015. From his first winner Taramea at only his third ride, Amirul has gone on to figure among the leading apprentice jockeys in Singapore where he rode 53 winners in four seasons from 2016 to 2019.

At his first year at Kranji in 2016, he also won a second consecutive Perak Derby on the same horse Littlebitofjoy at a one-day visit back to his hometown.

The next year, the Singapore Turf Club gave Amirul the opportunity to gain overseas experience in Tasmania where he performed very well with seven winners in three months.

In November 2019, his Singapore career was, however, halted when he was suspended for four months for not riding Romantic to the Stewards' satisfaction.

After returning to Malaysia, Amirul resumed his riding career in Penang and Ipoh this year and has ridden four winners from 46 rides across those two tracks.

Amirul, who will be at his first season as a senior jockey in Singapore, goes to scale at 51kgs.

NEW APPRENTICE JOCKEYS

AKMAZANI MAZUKI 

Malaysian 23-year-old who was first granted an apprentice jockey licence in Malaysia in July 2019. He was indentured to trainer Frank Maynard until December 2020, riding seven winners from 53 rides.

Moved to Singapore shortly after to join trainer Jerome Tan as senior track rider. He goes to scale at 50kgs.

FAIZ KHAIR

Singaporean 27-year-old who began as a syce with trainer Desmond Koh, under the Singapore Training Academy for Racing (STAR) Programme in October 2015. He upgraded to a track rider licence in November 2016.

Faiz goes to scale at 50kgs. 

FAHMI ROSMAN

Singaporean 25-year-old who began as a syce with trainer Steven Burridge in April 2016. He then transferred to trainer Sonny Yeoh, followed by trainer Saimee Jumaat in June 2017, where he upgraded to a track rider licence in November 2017.

Fahmi has since joined trainer Daniel Meagher and goes to scale at 50kgs.