Former champion Singapore apprentice Shafiq Rusof has returned to New Zealand.
The 31-year-old is continuing his association with Te Akau and will again be based at Matamata with trainers Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards.
Rusof rode three winners here in the 2009-10 season when apprenticed to Mark Walker and followed the champion trainer to Singapore.
“He’s a gun rider and he’ll be a big asset to the riding ranks in New Zealand,” Walker said.
“He’s held his own against the likes of Joao Moreira, Gerald Mosse, Glen Boss, Michael Rodd and Vlad Duric. He rode a lot of winners and more than held his own against class jockeys in a very competitive environment.
“Basically, at the end of last season, they (Singapore Turf Club) didn’t relicense Shafiq, Manoel Nunes or Oscar Chavez. They wanted to get some new jockeys in and he can reapply after doing a stint in New Zealand.
“He can ride as light as 53kgs and use the stick in both hands. He rode a lot of winners for us here in Singapore and to win two apprentice titles you’ve got to be a gun jockey because the competition is a lot tougher than it is at home.”
Rusof will kick off his second New Zealand stint on Saturday aboard Byzantine, a Savabeel colt who will make his debut in the Crombie Lockwood NZ Ltd 2YO Maiden (1000m) at Trentham.