Promising apprentice jockey Rueven Ravindra opened his 2015 account with a chance ride aboard Dragon G on Sunday.
The Malaysian rookie was given the leg-up on the Alwin Tan-trained galloper in the $60,000 Super Easy 2012 Stakes (Class 4) over 1600m after fellow apprentice jockey Troy See became indisposed following his tumble from Black Mamba upon pulling up in Friday’s last race. Ironically, Rueven was himself sidelined by a fractured leg early in the season, only making his 2015 debut in late January.
With the backing of nine-time champion trainer Laurie Laxon behind him, Rueven was not short of ammunition to make up for lost time, but it has, however, taken 33 rides for him to finally cross the line first.
With See’s loss being Rueven’s gain, Laxon’s apprentice had mixed feelings about the windfall, but was in no way unhappy to take the ice-breaker under such circumstances.
“Not sure what happened to Troy, but I’d like to thank the trainer and the owner for giving me this pick-up ride,” he said.
“I fractured my left foot while riding Hee’s A Maverick in a training accident at the end of last year and missed a few meetings in the new year, but it’s all good now.
“I basically just listened to the trainer’s instructions as I didn’t know the horse at all. He told me he was a lazy horse and I had to make a move on him from the 600m.
“I gave him a slap on the back and the fence also suited him. At the corner I made my move for the inside run, but he was on the wrong lead.
“I went for a bit of a rough ride on him but he didn’t want to change legs at all. He still won and I wonder by how much more he would have won if he had been on the right lead.”
Tan, who himself is not all that versed with Dragon G’s traits having only taken over the Pentire five-year-olds’s training last December, was glad he had finally found the key to success at his fourth time saddling him.
“I only just took him from Cliff Brown. He’s a good eater but is a very lazy horse,” said the Singaporean conditioner.
“He’s the type of horse who gives up when he gets checked. I told the jockey he had to keep him alert and awake, and luckily, we won by a short distance in the end.”
Backed down to $15 favouritism, Dragon G, a three-time winner for Brown between 1600m and 1900m, looked to have the task ahead when Military Alliance (Michael Rodd) shot clear at the 300m, but under Rueven’s persuasion, he gradually put an indent into the margin to secure a head advantage right on the line.
Dragon Perk (Nooresh Juglall) made stacks of ground to run third, but a gap of more than five lengths away. The winning time was 1min 39.57secs for the mile on the Polytrack.
