New Te Akau Apprentice Wins

Date: 25 Jul 2022

 

One of the two winners at Kranji for Te Akau Singapore on Sunday was ridden by our new stable apprentice - we are delighted to see him on the board so early in his career ... the Singapore Turf Club reports:

 

Super Posh gave Jamil Sarwi his first winner at Kranji on Sunday, but the newly-licensed apprentice jockey was not aware of the feat until he had pulled up after the winning post.

"At first, I thought he lost,” he said.

“I did not look at the ‘board' (Astrovision), so I didn't know if I won until Ronnie (Stewart on runner-up The Jun) congratulated me after the post (laughs), but I'm surprised he won."

Jamil was still in a blur as he walked Super Posh back to the unsaddling area as jockeys can get it wrong, too.

But when he saw his master Donna Logan waiting at the winner's circle with a thumbs-up, he knew for sure he had made his only ride of the day count.

Logan had assigned Super Posh in the $30,000 Class 5 Division 2 race (1,000m) as the 25-year-old Singaporean rider's only booking for the day.

Jamil had made a mixed start to his fledgling riding career. After a fourth place at his riding debut on Qiji Star three weeks ago, he finished last on Axel one week later.

Regardless, punters were still willing to back Super Posh to win going with his short odds of $22.

The pair settled on the outside of the leader, the resuming The Jun. Turning for home, Super Posh gave chase, but hit a flat spot at the 150m.

Jamil kept pushing, and the six-year-old son of former top Singapore galloper Super Easy responded with a winning lunge at the line.

David's Sling (Wong Chin Chuen) made ground late to finish another half-a-length away in third. The winning time was 59.48secs for the 1000m on the Polytrack.

Jamil said he only followed Logan's instructions and did not panic when Super Posh could not secure a run on the fence.

“I was told to go in front and find the rails because the horse had a tendency to hang out,” said Jamil.

“There was another horse (The Jun) on our inside, so we settled one-off the fence instead.

“He travelled very good in the rain. Upon turning, luckily, we had another horse (Cash Out) on the outside to keep him in.

“I had to push him a bit towards the end but he ran very well."

Though he only got his licence this July, Jamil started out as a syce with former top-jockey-turned-Kranji-trainer Saimee Jumaat three years ago, and has not looked back since.

“I graduated with a NITEC (National ITE Certificate) in Mechanical Technology, then I completed National Service, but I didn't know what I wanted to do after that,” said Jamil, who had no connections to the racing industry before, but now his mother and six siblings are all supportive of his riding career.

“I saw the STAR Programme (Singapore Training Academy for Racing) advertisement one day and applied for a job as a syce, but they took a while to call me back, so I helped at a furniture store for a few months.

“I joined Saimee in 2019 first as a syce, and he asked me if I wanted to become a jockey, so I thought I'd try.

“One year later, I became a track rider with him, and when he moved over to (ex-Kranji trainer) Mark Walker's stable (as a senior track rider), I followed too.

“After Mark left Singapore early this year, I came over to Donna's stable. Donna and B-trainer Jasuli (Sulaiman) taught me a lot, as well as Mark, but I also want to thank Saimee who gave me the opportunity to be in racing.”

The Singaporean has been a great mentor to many young apprentice jockeys like Yusoff Fadzli and Jerlyn Seow, and he continues to inspire one of the newest kid on the block.

“Saimee was our top jockey and he gives me great advice in riding,” said Jamil.

“He's my role model in Singapore. (Ex-jockey) Noh Senari also taught me a lot. Out there, I also like the great jockey Frankie Dettori because he's very clever in his races and has a very good judgement.

“Besides that, I also want to thank Yusoff, Jerlyn and Hakim (Kamaruddin) for their support.”

Like Jamil, the trio were indentured to Walker and transferred over to Logan after his departure.

The New Zealand trainer thought Super Posh would be a good fit for Jamil.

“He doesn't ride him often, but he is a horse that would keep him out of trouble,” she said.

“He wouldn't be behind horses clipping heels, so we thought he's a good ride for him.  In saying that, the horse lugs out on the turns but Jamil is quite a strong rider, so we thought he could control him.

“The horse is also running over his favourite distance (previous three wins were all over 1000m) and we thought the four kilo-claim was going to aid him.

“He was a good chance to run in the money and this win will give Jamil some confidence as well.”

Super Posh, who has not scored since August 2019, has taken his record to four wins and 11 placings from 40 starts, amassing close to $190,000 in prizemoney for the Super Posh Stable.

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