The news of racing’s demise in Singapore has been met with sadness by some of Hong Kong’s leading participants, with Douglas Whyte remembering his days plying his wares at the old Bukit Timah Racecourse.
Before he became a 13-time Hong Kong champion jockey and Group One-winning trainer, Whyte was a regular in Singapore. He considers his time there a vital stepping stone.
“That’s what got me here [to Hong Kong]. There they used to do the weekends. It would be Saturday-Sunday at Singapore, then Malaysia, then Penang, and then the circuit would come back to Singapore. So I would just fly in for Singapore, then fly back to South Africa,” Whyte said.
“Very, very fond memories. I loved that Bukit Timah track. It was beautiful. It was great to have ridden on both tracks, but that Bukit Timah track had a bit of history to it. It’s very sad news.”
Kranji Racecourse replaced Bukit Timah in 2000, and that is where Zac Purton had his big-race success in Singapore, with his CV featuring back-to-back Kranji Mile wins aboard Southern Legend in 2018 and 2019, a Singapore Airlines International Cup victory on Military Attack in 2013 and KrisFlyer International Sprint glory in tandem with Aerovelocity in 2015.
“It’s very disappointing. I always enjoyed going there. It’s a fantastic track, a great city, and what I thought was a great racing product. It’s a huge loss to world racing,” Purton said.
“There’s been some talk about it for some time, but I didn’t really expect it to happen. I’m going to miss it. I had a lot of success there – that obviously helps – but the overall experience is always great.”
Purton revealed he and trainer Tony Cruz had been eyeing a trip to Kranji this year and confirmed that if the Singapore Turf Club was to put on an international event between now and when racing ends in October next year, he would be keen to be involved.
Singapore government to end 180 years of horse racing in city
“We wanted to take Beauty Joy there this year for the Kranji Mile, but at a late stage, they said they weren’t accepting any international runners. We were certainly keen to go back, and if I had a horse to take, I’d go back for sure,” Purton said.
Caspar Fownes prepared Southern Legend for his pair of Kranji Mile strikes, and the trainer also won the KrisFlyer International Sprint three times – with Green Birdie in 2010 and Lucky Nine in 2013 and 2014.
“It’s such a shame. There’s a lot of history there,” Fownes said. “It was always on the cards because the government doesn’t get behind it. It’s very sad. It’s such a lovely racetrack and training centre.”
It was confirmed on Monday the land on which Kranji racecourse sits will be redeveloped by the government for “housing and other potential uses such as leisure and recreation”, bringing to an end 180 years of racing in the city.
