Seson wins in 3-way finish, Latest Racing News - The New Paper
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Seson wins in 3-way finish

$50 shot gives Covid-infected trainer Burridge his opening win

Seson’s flashing-home victory on Saturday certainly lifted the spirits of trainer Steven Burridge.

It was his first success from 23 runners this season and he is currently stuck back home in Australia with Covid-19.

He watched the races on television and was happy to get the boost and the monkey off his back.

“Seson’s quite small and is light on, he doesn’t carry a lot of condition, but he’s an honest horse,” he said.

“It’s good for his owner who is a very nice man. The jockey also rode him very well.”

The owner is Ng Tet Kong, who has seen his horse earn $114,000 in prize money from four wins and five placings in 22 starts.

The rider is Oscar Chavez, who is second in the jockeys’ table with six winners. 

He is just one winner behind Manoel Nunes, who has to sit out this Saturday due to a careless riding suspension.

Chavez parked the four-year-old Seson slightly behind midfield in the $50,000 Class 4 event over 1,200m on turf. 

The race was marred by the fall of jockey Matthew Kellady from the $12 favourite Be You shortly after the start. 

The Shane Baertschiger-trained galloper bucked and threw Kellady to the ground.

Sahabat led but was swarmed late. One of the challengers was Seson, who prevailed by a head from the unlucky Stenmark in a quick 1min 09.93sec. He paid $50.

Stenmark “raced in restricted room passing the 200m mark”. By the time apprentice jockey Jerlyn Seow got him out, it was too late.

The $366 outsider Exdream flew home third, just a neck away. He is back in form.

Seson’s win may have come in a modest race, but it was just the tonic Burridge needed not only to forget his slow start, but also the boredom of quarantine.

The Australian tested positive for Covid-19 on a trip back home.

He actually travelled to Australia twice in the last 30 days, mainly to take his Singapore-based grandson Charlie home to spend Christmas with his family on the Gold Coast.

But it was on his second visit this month to bring Charlie back that both grandfather and grandson tested positive.

“When Charlie was positive, I was then negative. But, when I went to pick him up at the airport last Wednesday to bring him back to Singapore, I was positive. I’m now in isolation for seven days as they changed the rule,” said the 67-year-old.

“We were supposed to have come back already, but I had to change my flight to next Sunday. I’m still positive, and worse still, my sister’s also got it.

“I have no symptoms, though, which is good, touch wood. I don’t feel crook or anything. Hopefully, I’m all good and will return negative in time, so we can fly back.”

HORSE RACING