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Top jockey Michael Rodd could not have hoped for a better riding comeback when he booted home a double on Friday night.
The Australian rider was at his second such reboot as he had been sidelined through an even more serious first ankle injury from a barrier trial mishap in February, putting him out of action for more than two months. This time around, he hurt his heel from a pick-up ride aboard Speedy Dragon on May 29, but it was still a setback that threw him off his course, especially after he had bounced back to new heights when winning two Legs of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge aboard Debt Collector after the first ankle injury.
The brace may have come in modest races, but Rodd saw the double aboard Arhat and Sand Bank as an omen that he may have finally turned the corner, and fingers crossed, it would be upwards and onwards from now on, moving on next to the plum ride aboard Well Done in the Group 1 Emirates Singapore Derby (2000m) awaiting him next Sunday.
“It’s been frustrating staying at home, but you also start to wonder about your future, especially financially when I now have a young family and it’s so competitive nowadays,” said Rodd.
“But I’ve always had good support and I’m very thankful for tonight’s book of rides. All four rides were very good; I got two winners and I can’t complain.”
Ridden a lot further back in the field in the $35,000 Open Maiden race over the mile, odds-on favourite Arhat was never going to get beaten once Rodd peeled the Michael Clements-trained son of Iffraaj to the outside at the top of the straight.
“Mike told me to ride him back as normally he is a lot more forward,” said Rodd.
“We tried something different and his good long strides did the job in the end. He’s a horse who will go through his class.”
Twice second and three times third at seven previous starts, Arhat was finally breaking the duck for the Arhat Stable while Sand Bank, who races in the Premier Racing Stable colours, showed he was in a winning mood in the $38,000 Kranji Stakes D Division 2 race over 1400m, making all from barrier one to beat Paltrow (Vlad Duric) by 2 ¼ lengths with Hot Gold (Wong Chin Chuen) third another 1 ½ lengths away.
Rodd said Sand Bank took the race by the scruff of the neck from the moment he pounced to the front.
“He just made his own luck in front and he pulled it off by going the whole way,” he said.
“It’s great to get these two wins even if it could have been three earlier with Lika Tiger, but he got beat (by the Alan Munro-ridden Billy Britain) close home.
“And now I have that ride on Well Done which is all very exciting for me next Sunday. I trialled the horse yesterday and he’s in very good shape.”