SAIFUDIN HAS WILD CARD IN SABAH ACE

Veteran M’sian jockey gets last shot at glory in sunset of his career and Singapore racing

- Michael Lee

The pairing of smart resuming galloper Sabah Ace with veteran jockey Saifudin Ismail may surprise a few, but not regular Kranji trackwatchers.

Those faithful early birds would have noticed the 56-year-old had been riding out more often for trainer David Kok in the last few weeks.

While the in-form handler could have still picked a more fashionable rider, such as Sabah Ace's laststart winning partner Bernardo Pinheiro, for that comeback race in the $70,000 Class 3 Division 1 race (1,200m), he went with loyalty.

"Saifudin helps me a lot. He rides seven to eight horses every day," said Kok.

"He's ridden Sabah Ace at his two trials. It was only normal I booked him for this week's race." With fewer jockeys left at Kranji owing to Singapore racing closing down on Oct 5, Kok had been struggling to find one to help with trackwork of late.

In Kok's 16 years of training, Saifudin has never been one of his goto jockeys. Blue Chip was the last of only four winning combinations on June 19, 2021.

The Malaysian jockey fitted the bill this time, even if the 250-odd race winner is not at his prime.