English trainer David Hill is thrilled to rejoin forces with former Kranji-based lightweight jockey Ronnie Stewart at his one-day cameo on Sunday.
At the behest of his El Dorado Classic contender Gold Faith’s owner Pan Sutong, Hill has booked the triple Singapore Gold Cup-winning jockey for the ride on the Irish-bred stayer in the $150,000 Group 3 event over 2200m.
Stewart, now 31, came to Singapore in 2006 as a virtual unknown with only a Sydney champion apprentice title as his boldest claim on his resume, but went on to leave his mark as a very efficient lightweight rider, and first and foremost, for joining an elite band of jockeys to have won three Singapore Gold Cups.
And by a happy coincidence, he did the tri-peat with the horse after which the race he will ride Gold Faith in, is named – El Dorado in 2008, 2009 and 2011.
Hill did not train El Dorado, Hideyuki Takaoka did, but he still has fond memories of his association with the well-travelled Australian rider during his six-year Kranji stint between 2006 and 2011. Stewart, who after moving base from Adelaide to Newcastle, via Macau and Mauritius, is now firmly entrenched in the Brisbane riding ranks where he currently holds a lofty fourth spot.
“Ronnie is a nice lad and has ridden many winners for me when he rode here. He won the Juvenile Championship on Onceuponatime (2007) for me, among others,” said Hill.
“We knew Gold Faith would get in at a low handicap in the El Dorado. When the owner suggested Ronnie Stewart to me, I told him it was a good choice.
“Ronnie knows the track, and is a strong lightweight rider. It’s the El Dorado Classic, he won three Singapore Gold Cups with that horse!”
Hill will wait on the El Dorado Classic to make any decision about the ride in the ultimate prize, the Group 1 Dester Singapore Gold Cup over the same distance and which is also a handicap race where Gold Faith (on 65 points) is likely to get another low weight even if he won on Sunday.
As for the Hong Kong-owned Dark Angel grey, Hill could not be happier with the way the Irish-bred has unlocked his true potential, albeit only after he found the key to it.
“He’s a horse who needs to settle in his races. Once he was ridden that way, he improved out of sight, winning two in a row and just got beat by Iron Man at his last start (Kranji Stakes C race over 1600m on October 6),” said Hill.
“Vlad Duric (jockey at his two wins) is a good friend of Ronnie’s and he has already had a long chat with him about how to ride this horse.
“You just need to switch him off. I think the crossover noseband has helped him a lot as well because he was pulling too hard and wouldn’t finish it off.
“It also has a lot to do with those European horses taking longer to acclimatise. He has drawn the second worse gate (15) and will need some luck in this big field of 16 horses, but if he can switch off and get some cover, he should run a good race.”
