Slowly but surely, apprentice Zy Nor Azman is starting to gain the confidence which had deserted him at his first year back in Singapore.
The talented rider was certainly no slouch at his former training ground in New Zealand where he booted home 29 winners, including four at metropolitan level, but the support let alone the wins had been sparser ever since he returned home in July 2017.
Other than his master Bruce Marsh, not many trainers were putting him on. He had to wait till September to ride his first Kranji winner, Mings Man, and it was not the trigger for more either.
Zy did ride one winner to kick off his 2018 season – Red General for Leslie Khoo - but then the rides dwindled, and so did his mood.
He missed New Zealand, half-regretted his decision to come back, but then his fortunes took an upturn – ironically, as a result of a mishap to someone close to him.
Fellow New Zealand apprentice jockey and Marsh “stablemate” Hairi Khalid Marzuki’s serious injuries in a race fall in July was the wake-up call he had not seen coming. Realising he had been feeling sorry for himself, while others could be in a worse predicament than him, he pulled himself out of his funk and has been working doubly hard since.
Winners soon followed. Zy now boasts five winners on the board, a new impetus helped in no small measure by leading trainer Shane Baertschiger, the supplier of his last two winners, Dutrow and Aramco.
The Zy and Baertschiger combination looks set to become more than just the odd pairing judging from his booking on Dutrow and Marine Treasure, two decent chances from the yard, on Sunday.
“Things are going a lot better now. My boss Bruce has been my No 1 supporter from Day 1 and I’ve also had a bit of luck with Shane, whom I cannot thank enough,” said Zy.
“He has put me on again on Dutrow and Marine Treasure this Sunday. I now claim only three kilos after Aramco’s win as it was my sixth here and I had four wins at premier level in New Zealand
“But Shane told me three kilos is still a massive help. I guess it’s when I claim only one kilo that things will be different.
“I would say Dutrow and Marine Treasure are my two best chances this week, even if they’ve both drawn wide.
“Dutrow (x Beautiful Crown) is an honest speedy sort with a pretty good chance. I won on Dutrow at his last start (in a Kranji Stakes C race over 1200m on August 31), even after he had a really hard race.
“If I had ridden him more intelligently, he could have won more easily, but he was stuck half-a-length in front on the outside of Alysha’s (Collett) horse (Charger).
“He got the fence in the end and kicked off nicely. He is drawn even worse this time (12), but I still hope I can go in front without having to use him too much.”
On the other hand, Zy said Marine Treasure is not a go-forward sort at all costs. He partnered the Manhattan Rain six-year-old at his last start in a Kranji Stakes B race 1000m speed dash on September 2, switching to sit-and-wait tactics which nearly came off but a bit of helter-skelter late cost him two days.
“Marine Treasure got me suspended for two days,” he said.
“There was not enough room and he shifted in. We lost by a short head and I reckon 10 metres more, we could have won.
“This horse has a lot of speed, but he can also take a sit. Just like last time, he is jumping from a wide barrier and I may have to ride him the same way.”
Zy reported that Hairi was doing a lot better after he was able to return home on September 22 after spending two months in hospital and rehab.
“Hairi can walk and talk now even if there are some movements he can’t make like turn his head around,” he said.
“He’s doing physio and is progressing each day. More importantly, he’s recovering and is in good spirits.”
