French jockey Alexis Badel made sure he was not the only visiting jockey not to get on the scoresheet at Kranji after he drove River Golden (NZ) (No Excuse Needed) to a spirited win in the S$80,000 Better Life 2012 Stakes, a Class 3 Division 2 race over 1200m on Saturday.
Favourite Yulong Xiongyin (Footstepsinthesand) was being hailed the winner when he opened up to a comfortable lead down the straight, but Badel was working overtime on the wayward River Golden at the back.
The Hong Kong-owned No Excuse Needed five-year-old was hanging in badly under pressure and did not look like he would give the Frenchman that first Kranji win.
But the son of former top jockey Alain Badel and trainer Myriam Bollack-Badel showed he had riding in his genes with a breathtaking riding display inside the last furlong.
River Golden kept digging deep under Badel’s typical gallic riding style, eventually laying down the law to gather Yulong Xiongyin by half-a-length.
“It’s fantastic to ride a winner here in Singapore,” said Badel, a regular visitor in Hong Kong during the off-season in France.
“The horse gave me a pretty good race. We had the perfect draw and he ran relaxed in midfield.
“He was hanging in badly, but he showed a good turn of foot to catch the leader.”
Local trainer Mok Zhan Lun said all the credit should go to Badel as he thought his ward was not making much headway at the 300m.
“The jockey gave the horse a tough ride. All credit should got to him – he won the race,” said Mok.
“It’s fantastic to have a winner on such a big day.”
River Golden ($40) was bringing up his fourth win from 23 starts for prizemoney that has now edged closer to the S$180,000 mark for owner Ho Pui Kim. -STC