Expat New Zealand rider Jason Collett had winning debut in Singapore on Saturday night on Auspicious Day.
The 26-year-old is in town to take the ride aboard New Zealand raider Ocean Emperor in the S$1.5 million Kranji Mile (1600m).
Collett, whose younger sister Alysha just began a six-month contract in Singapore last week, was obviously thrilled at the “auspicious” start to the day.
“The horse had a lovely run. I had plenty of horse to work with and I gave him a squeeze, he won very well,” said Collett.
“The trainer (Leslie Khoo) was confident he would run well up to the mile even if he was at his first test over that trip. A big thank you to the trainer for the good ride."
Auspicious Day, who opened his account at his last start at Restricted Maiden level, was not the quickest out of the gates, as is his habit, but seemed to be travelling relaxed enough at the rear for his first-time partner.
When Collet decided the Showcasing three-year-old needed a wriggle on, they started to noticeably work through the field before charging down the middle of the straight towards a comprehensive 2 ½-length win from Nova Classic.
The winning time was 1min 35.6secs for the 1600m on the Long Course.
That second win has now edged Auspicious Day’s earnings closer to the S$150,000 mark for the Angie No 3 Stable.
Not to be outdone Alysha rode her first Singapore winner later in the card on the Michael Clements-trained Eye Guy (Bradbury’s Luck) in the S$85,000 Stepitup 2015 Stakes (1200m).
“I’m thrilled to get my first winner in Singapore. Jason’s my older brother, so he went first, I’ll give him that,” said Collett.
“It’s obviously my first ride on this horse. He’s got a free-riding action and I just let him use that big action to settle in the lead.
“He is still very green. He was on the wrong leg, ran out in the straight, but he had enough left in the tank to win the race.” -STC