Don’t Forget Saifudin
From the huge gulps of air Saifudin Ismail was taking as he brought long shot Don’t Forget Boss back to the Kranji scales on Aug 11, it was anybody’s guess if they were from exhaustion or relief.
Chances are they were from both.
At 56, the Malaysian jockey is no spring chicken. He would be the first to admit his recovery rate is not quite the same, even if he clearly can still lift a nag home.
Don’t Forget Boss, a $139 shot, had been clearly forgotten by most in the $30,000 Class 5 race (2,000m) but, under Saifudin’s urgings, he suddenly found a will to add to his only win (as Citygold Lightning) thus far.
The early bustling from the 800m to get off the rear and bridge the gap on runaway leader Navy Seals (Marc Lerner) in a 10-furlong stamina test must have also sapped Saifudin’s energy.
Maybe it was vanity, but the elder statesman of Kranji’s jockeys’ room was adamant. The heavy panting had nothing to do with reduced lung capacity.
“It’s relief. I’m so happy I won’t end this last season without a winner,” he said.
Saifudin had gone 103 rides without riding a winner in 2024, as well as three months on the sidelines through injury.
With the days of Singapore racing numbered, the Penang-born father of four boys had until Oct 5 to bow out with at least one winner at the place he has called home for most of his riding career.
Hopes looked dim with the low support at his comeback in April, but a recent surge of rides from trainer David Kok has brought an unexpected change of fortunes.
From his six rides for Kok, Saifudin actually did not leave Don’t Forget Boss out.
“At his last start over 1,600m, he ran very well to the line,” he said.
“I worked him in trackwork, and I was very happy with him.
“He was laying in, so I changed my whip to my left hand. I can ride with both hands, no worries.”
Like Saifudin, Kok was not that stunned by the win. To him, it was not the horse factor that lengthened the odds.
“I think punters were worried about a jockey who had not won any race this year, but Saifudin’s shown he could still ride,” he said.
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