He is the first jockey from Mauritius to ride in Singapore and Nooresh Juglall is making sure that he leaves a lasting impression on the Kranji faithful.
His stock continues to rise sharply after securing his first treble of the season when he drove favourite Peace No War to a fighting win in the $100,000 Open Benchmark 89 race on Sunday.
With solid support at just $9, the Australian-bred gelding emerged victorious from a trio of challengers down the straight to pip Perfect Charger (Oscar Chavez) by a head with Southern Boss (Joseph See) denied a fourth win on the trot and taking third another three-quarter length adrift. The winning time on the Polytrack was 59.55secs.
Trained at the prestigious South African Jockey Academy after he left home in 2009, Juglall won the apprentice crown twice during his five-year apprenticeship and alongside compatriot and Hong Kong-based Karis Teetan, has been tagged as one of the most promising prospects to come from the tiny racing-mad island nation situated 3000km off the southeast coast of Africa.
He has since taken his new home by storm since relocating here in June after receiving a three-month visiting jockey’s licence and has now bagged 12 winners after just eight weeks of racing, boosting his chances of extending his stay till the end of the year, and perhaps beyond.
“Things are really going well for me but I couldn’t have done any of this without the support I’ve gotten from all the trainers and owners,” said Juglall, who celebrated his 23rd birthday two weeks ago.
“I’ve really enjoyed the experience and my time here and hopefully the club will grant me another licence till November and a longer one for next year.”
While the hat-trick has improved his strike rate to over 17 per cent and his 12 winners now puts him within touching distance of 10th place in the jockey’s standings currently occupied by John Sundradas (15 winners), the variety of sources of the winning rides has been equally as crucial.
“This is my first ride for Michael Freedman and I’m really happy to have gotten a winner for them,” said Juglall, whose two other triumphs on the weekend came aboard War Time (for trainer Leslie Khoo) and Emperor’s Banquet (Patrick Shaw).
His inaugural ride for the Australian handler’s outfit also proved to be an eventful one. As expected, Southern Boss, a noted speedster and frontrunner, utilized his gate speed to take control of proceedings and led the nine-horse field over the first three furlongs until the top of the straight.
The exertions seemed to catch up with the Desmond Koh-trained galloper who was running out of steam as Peace No War and Perfect Charger drew level on his outside. It soon became a war of nerves as all three runners jostled for the lead and Juglall had to keep his wits about him in the heat of battle with just 50m left to the winning post.
“It was a really close race and I got badly boxed in between the two of them at one point and I thought I was going to be in trouble,” he said. “But luckily my horse managed to get through them and he fought all the way to the line.”
A four-year-old out by War Pass out of Rivers Secret, Peace No War has shown an appetite for the alternative surface. This was his third win from five starts on the Polytrack. Overall, he has now improved his enviable record to five wins and three placings from 11 starts and has earned around $260,000 in prizemoney for the Lotus Stable.
Juglall later capped off a memorable afternoon for himself when he scored aboard the Steven Burridge-trained Gilt Lad in the final race, a $60,000 Class 4 (1200m). It was the first four-timer managed this season by another jockey besides leading Brazilian hoop Manoel Nunes.
For Juglall, it also marked a personal milestone for him as it was the 300th victory of his career after just four years of riding.
