Nunes stands by Major decision

Leading jockey Manoel Nunes commands the pick of the rides at Kranji, but it is not always a surefire guarantee of success.

Like last Sunday on Derby day, when the Brazilian had a book of 10 rides, seven of whom were either favourites or second favourites. None obliged – a rarity for a big-race jockey like him.

Obviously, such blank days are more the exception than the rule for the four-time Singapore champion jockey.

As a rider in high demand, the perks of attracting the best mounts far outweigh the odd occasions he pulls the wrong rein.

Jockeys are not always the best judges, though, especially when they are spoilt for choice, a luxury that can backfire at times.

Nunes had to choose between two rides this Sunday – Major King and Akthar in the day’s highlight, the $70,000 Class 3 race (1,000m).

He has won on both at their last starts. While some might have taken advantage of their lofty spot in the pecking order of Kranji’s riding ranks to have things their way, Nunes adopts a more consultative approach.

Mutual trust and the dynamics of a trainer-jockey relationship play a part, too. On 11 winners, Nunes boasts a high strike rate with Ong, second only to Jason Lim (13 winners) in 2023.

“Jason asked me to choose between the two horses. But, I actually told him I would leave it to him,” said Nunes.

“He then said he’d put me on Major King. It turned out I would have picked Major King, myself.”

On paper, it was a toss-up, even if some thought I Am Invincible four-year-old Akhtar’s impressive debut 2¼-length win in a Class 4 race (1,100m) on July 15 had more upsides.

Three-time winner Major King is no slouch either, and was particularly dominant at his last-start win in a similar contest, but three weeks earlier on June 24.

Having ridden both horses certainly helped in making an informed decision.

“Akhtar won impressively, but he is stepping up from Class 4 to Class 3, so it’ll be a tougher race,” he said.

“It’s the same thing for Major King, you might say. But I feel that the only issue with Akhtar is he can be quite a difficult horse in the barriers.

“There’ll be a lot of speed in this race, and having tricky barrier manners doesn’t help.

“Horses like Red Ocean, Gold Ten Sixty-One, Win Win and Sun Ops are all very fast whereas it’s not necessary for Major King to lead.

“I also feel Major King is an easier horse to ride, even if I feel the 1,000m is sharp for him. I would have preferred 1,100m.”

The Per Incanto four-year-old’s pole position in the starting gates was not a factor, though.

“The inside barrier can be good and bad. If he jumps a bit slow early, which he can do at times, he can get stuck inside,” he explained.

“We’ll then have to take him out, and that may not help his chances.

“In saying that, I remember once he drew barrier 11 and he was five or six wide and he still ran on for third.”

At the end of the day, jockeys have to stand by their decisions and the bottom line is still to get on the best, or, at least, fittest horse.

“He ran very well in his trial last Thursday (July 21),” said Nunes.

“Hopefully, I’m right about him on Sunday.”

The premiership tearaway leader would be banking on a few more of his 11 rides on Sunday to reboot the win counter that stalled at 56 (against second-placed Wong Chin Chuen’s 31) last Sunday.

Missing out on a third Singapore Derby with Super Salute – after Spalato in 2014 and Infantry in 2017 – was the biggest let-down.

“Super Salute was a bit keen, he was pulling hard in the backstraight. When Vlad (Duric on Cavalry) came up to us at the 600m, I didn’t go with him,” said Nunes.

“I watched the replays. If I had, in my opinion, we wouldn’t have even finished third because we were over the long course.

“He didn’t get a clear run in the home straight, but at the 100m, he had plenty of clear space and every chance.

“If he was good enough, he could have finished it off, but he didn’t. The 1,800m is too far for him.

“Even the 1,600m is borderline. His best trip is 1,400m.

“Maybe when he matures more, he can go over further one day.”