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New Zealand-trained apprentice jockey Zyrul Nor Azman was all smiles after he finally repaid leading trainer Shane Baertschiger’s faith in him with a winner on Friday night.
The Bruce Marsh apprentice had been given a leg-up a few times by the Australian handler, with a couple of placings as the best outcome thus far – unfortunately, with a few sprays as well.
But the young man accepted his faults, and finally sealed that first win for Baertschiger after he turned in a flawless ride on $18 favourite Dutrow in the $80,000 Kranji Stakes C Division 2 race over 1200m, even if the first 400m of the race did not exactly pan out the way they had discussed in the parade ring.
The idea was to lead but when Charger (Alysha Collett) showed the same intention on their inside, Dutrow was caught between a rock and a hard place.
Zyrul had to make a split-second decision – stay put or press on. The Singaporean went for the latter and was fortunately rewarded for his bold move.
Once the Beautiful Crown five-year-old secured the steel, Zyrul was able to give him a breather mid-race – some leeway which would go a long way in the gelding finding that extra length when the lactic acid kicks in.
Charger and stablemate Chocante (John Powell) came chipping away at the margin, but well ridden by Zyrul, Dutrow staunchly held his ground with half-a-length to spare from Charger, who denied Baertschiger a quinella by holding Chocante off by a nose. The winning time was 1min 11.99secs for the 1200m on the Polytrack.
“Mr Baertschiger has been supporting me for a while and it’s great I rode a first winner for him tonight,” said Zyrul.
“I’ve made a few mistakes and we’ve spoken about them, but he still put me on his horses because he knows I’m still learning. I can’t thank him enough for that.
“I tried to lead, but then the other horse (Charger) kicked up. I had half-a-length in front and I was contemplating if I should hold back.
“But I was already committed and I thought it was no use holding him back. I kept riding him along and we were able to get the fence.
“From that point, I tried to give him a breather and in the home straight, I just rode him for luck. They were coming hard at him, but he showed a lot of heart all the way to the line.”
Baertschiger conceded Zyrul’s four kilos’ allowance was the main draw given he was downgrading Dutrow from Class 2 to Kranji Stakes C company, and he was consequently slapped with the steadier of 59.5kgs, but he also praised the rider’s handling.
“There was not much speed in the race, and I told Zy to lead, but he had to do more work when Alysha’s horse kicked up,” said the current leading trainer.
“He was dropping back in grade, but he is a very consistent horse. Zy has had a couple of rides for us for a few placings and he gave him a great ride tonight, the horse just kept going to the line.
“Things are going well for us. Obviously Lee Freedman is right behind (actually narrowed Baertschiger’s lead to one – 43 vs 42 - after ringing up a double with Introit and Made In Russia), but we’ve got a few new horses and we’ll see what we can do.”
Dutrow has been a handy moneyspinner for his Kiwi owner Thomas Heptinstall having now taken his stakes earnings past the $200,000 mark with that fourth win in only 11 starts.