Troy See hungry for winners

Troy See says he is "really hungry for a winner".

By Michael Lee, Singapore Turf Club

A two-week suspension is never a holiday jockeys look forward to, and Troy See is no different, especially after cooling his heels during an even longer hiatus in the last one and a half years, but one positive to come out of the recent time away was networking.

The Singaporean jockey returns from suspension this Sunday (ironically rubbed out from his only 2021 winning ride thus far, Beer Garden) with a book of five rides, which comprises the usual link-up with the Lim’s Stable (Lim’s Mighty and Lim’s Bestbreaker) and other off and on supporters like trainers Kuan Cheng Tee (Smash) and Desmond Koh (Sun Royale).

The fifth booking belongs more to the “once in a blue moon” category, Phaxe for Ricardo Le Grange, but such are the new dynamics in this post-COVID-19 landscape that nobody bats an eyelid to such previously rarely-seen partnerships bucking the trend these days.

Troy See at his only 2021 win, aboard Beer Garden on January 9.

“Lim’s Bestbreaker and Phaxe are my two best chances, but I’m probably more excited about getting a ride from Ricky,” said the 2018 Singapore champion apprentice jockey who has never won a race for the South African handler, but who does have one win on the board for Le Grange’s ex-boss Patrick Shaw, Salut Amour in 2016.

“He’s an underrated trainer, his horses are actually starting to do a lot better. Maybe he has not clicked with some of his jockeys at some stage, and it looks like he’s exploring other options these days.

“No doubt, the shortage of senior jockeys has led to that situation, but it’s helping jockeys like myself. Jerome Tan is another trainer who has been giving me a leg-up recently, my first win back on Beer Garden was for him.

“I actually rang Ricky up for the ride on Leatherhead (in the $50,000 Class 4 race over 1700m), but he gave me the ride on Phaxe instead, which I was quite happy to take, even on 53kgs.

“I’m now at 55kgs, but I’ll be at the gym soon, and I’m confident I can make the weight by Sunday. Ricky said no more rides for me if I can’t!”

A four-year-old by Choisir, Phaxe has yet to find the line in 13 starts for South African owner Guy Shirtliff, but his fast-finishing second to New Garden in a Maiden race over 1100m at his last start on January 23 bodes well.

“Phaxe can be quite hard to catch, but on his day, I think he’s got a good chance in that Class 5 race over 1000m,” said See.

“I hope he puts his best foot forward on Sunday.”

See had been on the outer since mid-2019 after his licence was not renewed before he got the nod for six months from January 2021, alongside the other comeback kid Oscar Chavez.

Beer Garden was the thirst-quencher he badly needed before the careless riding suspension (he actually appealed against one of two on same horse, but lost) put him on the backfoot again.

“I’m really hungry for a winner. Lim’s Bestbreaker is the next best even if I’ve never worked or ridden him, just like Phaxe,” said See, who has ridden in excess of 130 winners since Seize The Day in 2012.

“CC (Chin Chuen) Wong is the one who did a lot of riding on him. He galloped him on Tuesday and from what I understand, Steven (Burridge) was very happy with that hitout.

“He’s drawn awkward, and it’ll be his first time on grass for a long time. He ran twice on it earlier, but he was not really ready then.

“It’s taken him a few runs to get better. He’s really blossomed into a nice horse.

“He likes to drop back, but hopefully on the A course, he can stay clear of trouble and find his way home.

“This race is a lot stronger, so he won’t be short in the market this time. If he steps up, it means he’s got a bit of an engine and it’ll be interesting to see where he goes from there.”

Burridge is also using the $50,000 Class 4 Division 2 race over 1200m on turf, which is the last of the 10-race programme as a guide to determine if the Battle Paint four-year-old can keep scaling through the grades for the Lim’s Stable.

At his last start under Wong, he came from last to defeat My Big Boss, who went on to score at his next start two weeks later.

“He has no pace, he gets back and must be ridden quiet. Whether he can run on again, we’ll see as it’s a very competitive race,” said the Australian conditioner.

“He’s improving all the time, though. He’s run on grass early doors, but he was green then, he’s a lot more seasoned now.

“I put pacifiers on when he raced on Polytrack because of the kickback. I’ve left them on even though he’s racing on turf as I don’t think it makes much difference.

“CC got suspended. I could have used (Burridge’s apprentice jockey) Simon (Kok Wei Hoong, who is making his riding comeback), but I didn’t know if the race would be split and in the end, Simon is riding another horse (Miej).

“So, I was quite happy to put Troy on.”

Burridge, who fields only four horses (down from five after Tilsworth Sydney was scratched), also saddles Ironchamp (Matthew Kellady) in that last race, but the one-time winner by Glass Harmonium is the first standby starter.

“Ironchamp is fit and well. I can only hope he gets a run,” he said.

iRace
Author: iRace