Glen Boss’s big call to have a shot at this year’s Singapore premiership could not have been given a better boost after he rode three winners at the two New Year’s meetings.
Kicking off his first contract only back in May, the Australian top gun did very well to finish 11th on 25 winners from 231 rides for a strike rate of 10.8%, though some cynics might argue the three-time Melbourne Cup-winning jockey could have done better.
But this year, the 47-year-old is off the starting blocks on terms, and has already propelled himself to the top with a riding double courtesy of David Kok’s Major Advancement and Racing Talent on Sunday and a third win in Monday’s opener with Peach Bowl for Steven Burridge.
Boss shares the lead with fellow Australians Michael Rodd and John Powell and Briton Alan Munro on three winners each, but sits in third spot for now, because of an inferior countback for seconds.
It is, however, still early days as the 2013 Melbourne champion jockey knows full well there are still 93 meetings to journey through, not to mention the volatile nature of the pecking order in the riding ranks.
A slight kink in his premiership chase is the six-month extension he was granted compared to many of his peers and immediate rivals like Manoel Nunes, Vlad Duric, Rodd or Danny Beasley who were all given a one-year contract, but Bossy, as he is called, is unfazed and remained focused on the task at hand – ride winners, preferring to just cross the bridge when he comes to it.
“It’s a great way to start the season. I just have to keep working hard and the results will show,” said Boss, who is at his second Singapore stint, having ridden 10 winners during a short-term three-month contract in 2011, a year after his Singapore Gold Cup triumph aboard Risky Business.
“Like I’ve said before, I will go for the premiership this year. I’ve had a dream start for that, and as long as I don’t get suspended or injured, touch wood, I should be able to have a good crack at it.”
Of his trio of winners, Boss waxed lyrical the most about the middle pin, Major Advancement in the season opener’s second race, the Good Health 2017 Stakes, a Restricted Maiden race over 1200m.
Boss has done a fair bit of work with Kok’s new O’Reilly three-year-old and was very enthused by that maiden performance – a two-length beating of his rivals.
“He’s a lovely big horse. He’s not really fully wound up yet, but he still ran some time,” he said.
“I held him up in the run but as soon as I half-flopped the reins, he wanted to go right behind the other horses.
“David has done a great job with him, and like the rest of his horses. He keeps them in very good condition.
“I like David a lot, he’s a good young trainer and in years to come, he could be winning the premiership.”
