French stint for Kok
Kranji-based jockey brings his saddle to Maisons-Laffitte and Chantilly for December break
France is a country Simon Kok has already ticked as a holiday destination, but he has also brought his riding boots along this time.
The popular Kranji-based Malaysian jockey will be attached to two leading trainers in Paris.
He began trackwork duties on Monday, with a view of riding in races as well.
Kok will be based at Maisons-Laffitte with the father-and-son training partnership of Carlos and Yann Lerner before moving to Chantilly to ride for Francis-Henri Graffard.
He returns to Singapore on Jan 4, three days before the 2023 Kranji season starts.
Both his gigs came about through Singapore connections.
The first one is not so hard to figure out.
The Lerner name is already known at Kranji since 2018 through jockey Marc Lerner, who is incidentally also riding in France during the December break but has yet to win in five rides.
“Marc spoke with his father and brother, and they were more than happy to let me come and ride work for them at Maisons-Laffitte in December,” said Kok, who reached Paris on Sunday.
“I applied to ride in France three months ago and got the good news about a month ago. I will ride trackwork for the Lerners first.
“One week later, I’ll go to trainer Francis-Henri Graffard in Chantilly. It’s (trainer Tan) Kah Soon who helped me approach Francis. They became friends from their time at Godolphin.
“I’m just happy to help both trainers with trackwork. But it would be great if I could have at least a couple of race rides, too.”
The former two-time Singapore champion apprentice jockey, whose only overseas stints feature Malaysia and Australia, had his heart set on France for a while – quite literally.
The 27-year-old’s wife, Lola, is French. They met during their showjumping days in his native Ipoh.
Having already visited Paris and the northern part of France as a son-in-law, his interest in French racing was sparked soon enough.
“There are world-class jockeys in France and the tracks are very interesting,” said Kok, who enjoyed a stellar first season as a fully fledged jockey with 19 winners.
“I watch their races quite regularly. It’s a dream place for me to ride at.
“I come back on Jan 4, in time for the start of the new Singapore season.”
Meanwhile, another Kranji-based Malaysian jockey on a busman’s holiday is A’Isisuhairi Kasim.
After originally testing the Saudi tracks, the 37-year-old has settled for Dubai as his new riding base.
“I’ll be riding for a trainer named Saeed Al Shamsi. He has 20 horses, mostly Arabian-breds,” said A’Isisuhairi, who left Singapore for Abu Dhabi on Dec 3.
“He’s based in Abu Dhabi but I’ll also ride in Jebel Ali, Al Ain, Sharjah and, hopefully, Meydan as well. We’ll see how it goes.”
A’Isisuhairi took his first United Arab Emirates ride at Al Ain on Dec 10 on a horse called King Lothbrok for his boss Al Shamsi.
The former two-time Singapore champion apprentice finished fifth, beaten by Yurman (Tadhg O’Shea) by more than nine lengths.
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