Top US jockey David Flores may have been feeling jet-lagged after landing in Singapore on Tuesday morning following a 15-hour non-stop flight from Los Angeles, but he still made it a point to head straight to Kranji to check out his new workplace in the next two weeks.
Photo by Singapore Turf Club
At his first visit in Singapore, the 45-year-old Mexican-born rider is taking up a short-term licence that will see him ride up to the Group 1 Emirates Singapore Derby on July 14.
A winner of more than 3,500 races garnered mainly across the various racetracks at his Californian base, but also at other major centres around the world such as England, Sweden, Hong Kong, Japan, Dubai and Saudi Arabia, Flores is now looking to improve on that score in Singapore.
“It’s a beautiful grandstand and a beautiful track. Hopefully it feels as great when I get on it,” said Flores who certainly stood out at Kranji in his typical Western garb of blue jeans, big-buckle belt and a white cowboy hat.
“Darrell Haire, who heads the Jockeys’ Guild in Santa Anita, is the one who asked me if I was interested to ride in Singapore.
“I’ve been around the world for a while, and I thought why not try Singapore while I still have another five years before I retire.
“When I spoke with my wife Dawn, she said why not give it a try, and here I am. She could not come with me, though, as she has to look after our six-month-old son John Lorenzo.”
Flores, who has four elder daughters from a previous marriage, said he had not set himself any specific goals, other than to make the most of the new experience.
“I’m here for only a couple of weeks. It looks like a great set-up, but I still have no idea how it will go on,” said Flores who has won several accolades such as landing three Breeders’ Cup races and two of the Dubai World Cup races with two Godolphin horses (Express Tour in UAE Derby and Festival Of Light in Godolphin Mile) in 2001, among others.
“I know some people here like Desmond Koh, Jose Verenzuela and Oscar Chavez, and I’ll try to get as much information as I can from them.
“Every jockey and each track has a different style, but racing is at the end of the day still the same everywhere you go.
“That’s what we do, we ride a different horse every day, but we just have to adapt.
“The key is to be yourself, have confidence in your ability and respect the other jockeys. We’re all very competitive, but we don’t go killing each other.”
Flores has already been booked for five rides (Fat Kid, Arapuni, American Vision, Royal Brat and Super Jetset) on Friday and two rides (Double Cash and Sharaku Gold) on Sunday. He admitted not knowing squat about his rides, but hopes at least one of them can launch him to a flier at his new stint.
“I will ride trackwork tomorrow and get my first rides on Friday. I think Sam Chua will give me some horses to work,” said Flores who has three Hollywood Gold Cups to his name, but will miss the final renewal of that race on July 6 at Betfair Hollywood Park, which is closing down.
“I just rode a winner (Oak Kye Why) for Jimmy Cassidy at Hollywood Park on Saturday before I flew here. I left on a winning note and I’m ready to go.”
Flores, who goes to scale at 53.5kg, keeps an open mind about any possibility of prolonging his stay.
“I don’t want to go ahead of myself as I’m here to enjoy the experience first, meet new people and build new contacts, which is always important in this business,” said Flores.
“I can only hope I can get on some good horses and win some races. We’ll see how it goes.”
In a career spanning 29 years, Flores has thrown his leg over many quick sorts, but none probably as famous as US wonder mare Zenyatta, whom he rode at the first three of her amazing run of 19 consecutive wins, before she fell short at her last race, the Breeders’ Cup Classic, beaten by a head by a horse called Blame with her then regular partner Mike Smith in the saddle.
Though Koh has not called upon Flores’ services this weekend, the US-trained Singaporean trainer said it would not be long before he does.
“I knew David from the time I worked in the States. He’s in the top bracket there,” said Koh. “He and Jose Verenzuela were the senior boys there.
“I’ve seen David ride and I can tell you he sure can ride. I’ll definitely support him while he’s here.”
