Packing It! Royal Brat streaks clear to give Bernard Fayd’herbe his first winner in Singapore (Singapore Turf Club)
South African jockey Bernard Fayd’Herbe could have brought a premature end to his one-month stay at Kranji after Flax was scratched from the Gr 1 Panasonic Kranji Mile two weeks ago. That is especially given his heavyweight status is no magnet for a flurry of riding assignments, but the consummate professional stayed on and was repaid for his commitment on Sunday when Royal Brat gave him a much-needed boost.
Fayd’Herbe was granted a one-month visiting jockey’s licence in October hinged around the plum ride aboard classy stayer Flax in the first two Legs of the Singapore Triple Crown series, the Kranji Mile (1600m) and the Gr 1 Raffles Cup (1800m), but a spanner was thrown in the works when the South African-bred owned by Dennis and Gael Evans (Newbury Racing Stable) fell foul to injury, putting him out of business for the next three months.
With a third place aboard John Of Arch (October 6) in only six rides at three previous meetings as his best showing thus far, Fayd’Herbe was not holding his breath with only two bookings on Sunday, Secondwave and Royal Brat, both for Flax’s trainer David Hill, though the second ride was widely considered as his best chance to finally break through at Kranji
Fayd’Herbe, whose only previous ride at Kranji was a second place aboard River Jetez behind Gitano Hernando in the Gr1 Singapore Airlines International Cup in 2011, certainly did not let that opportunity slip away as he delivered a well-rated front-running ride on Royal Brat in the $35,000 Class 5 race over 2000m.
The Elvstroem seven-year-old made every post a winning one with a plucky run to the line to defeat Wo Ai Ninn (Joao Moreira) by half-a-length with Ange d’Orient (Sam Subian) third another 1 ½ lengths away. The winning time was 2min 4.7secs.
“It’s always hard to break into a new scene wherever you go,” said Fayd’Herbe who despite his weight having always hovered at the upper end of the scale, has plied his trade in several countries including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Hong Kong, Dubai and Mauritius.
“More so when it is so competitive for the top rides and I’m riding at 56kgs. But I’m grateful for the opportunity, especially for Mr Hill and everyone else.
“A special word of thanks must also go to Mr and Mrs Dennis Evans, for whom I ride a fair bit back home. For example, there is a good horse called Run For It that I rode for them.
“Mr Hill told me to ride my own race on this horse (Royal Brat). He was always travelling well and kicked very strongly in the home straight.”
In spite of the Flax injury disappointment, Evans has not returned to South Africa and made it a point to head down to the winner’s circle to celebrate Fayd’Herbe’s first Kranji win.
“I’m really delighted for Bernard. Besides riding a lot of my horses trained by Justin Snaith back home, he is also a good friend of mine,” said Evans.
“He works very hard to keep his weight down. I’d really like to see him spend more time here.
“Many jockeys would have gone home after what happened, but Bernard made a commitment and as he respects the Singapore Turf Club and appreciates the facilities, he will see out the full term of his licence here.
“It’s good for him as he is not just thinking about the short term. “
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