Pools make a splash in Perth
Singapore gaming company honoured at Derby Day in the Western Australian city
After South Korea, South Africa and Hong Kong, it was the turn of Perth Racing in Australia to put Singapore Pools on the world racing map on April 13.
The Western Australian turf club could not have honoured the Singapore gaming company better by choosing one of their more popular days on the racing calendar to honour them, Derby Day.
They went the extra mile by throwing in some of the best seats in the build-up – the supporting act before the main act.
The A$80,000 (S$70,400) handicap over 1,400m that was named the Singapore Pools Trophy 2024 was slated as Race 6 on the undercard, just one event before the A$400,000 Group 2 Schweppes W.A.T.C Derby (2,400m).
Fittingly, the Pools race was captured by a horse ridden by a jockey not unfamiliar to Kranji racegoers, Perth multiple-champion hoop William Pike.
The Wizard from the West, as he is often called, delivered a typical cool, calm and collected ride aboard $14 favourite Oly’s Choice. He is trained by one of Perth’s most dynamic training partnerships, brothers Daniel and Ben Pearce.
Singapore racegoers who stayed on to watch the Derby would have also felt a connection with another old acquaintance.
The winner, A Lot Of Good Men ($28), is prepared by Trevor Andrews who trained in Bukit Timah from 1996 to 1998, saddling around 60 winners. Jarrad Noske was the winning jockey.
Pools’ chief product officer Simon Leong not only praised the hospitality shown to his delegation, but also highlighted the long-term benefits of making their presence felt at such platforms.
To him, the collaborative drive with Pools’ overseas partners is two-fold – uphold a high standard of racing products and cement the ties that bind the global racing family.
“We value our long-standing partnership with Perth Racing, a collaboration that has not only enhanced our ability to deliver more high-quality races to our fans but also strengthened the bonds between Australia and Singapore within the horse racing community,” said Leong.
“Together, we endeavour to enrich the racing experience for all and foster a shared passion that transcends boundaries.”
Except for Korea, which is relatively newer territory, Pools has long penetrated horse racing markets like Australia, Hong Kong, South Africa, along with more traditional products like Malaysia and Europe, mainly UK and France.
But it was only in the last seven months (kicking off with Seoul in September) that its brand name was given such recognition at one of their race meetings.
Pools will come full circle with the next pitstop being Seoul again in September, to coincide with their biggest international event, the Korea Cup and Korea Sprint.
Singapore did often send runners to the invitational races since their inception in 2014, even making history with El Padrino (David Flores) winning the inaugural renewal then known as the Asia Challenge Cup (1,400m) that year.
Others have tried in subsequent years, but failed to emulate Alwin Tan’s all-weather champion on Seoul’s deep sand track.
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