Queiroz’s six grand for three Ace rides

There are one million good reasons not to miss a race like the Kranji Mile.

One of them ostensibly led jockey Bruno Queiroz to part with $6,000 rather than missing out on Singapore’s second-richest race.

The Brazilian’s win aboard Hasten in Race 4 on April 27 did not come without a hefty price.

Stewards decided that his haste in coming across at the 1,000m, forcing Great Warrior to drift in, was in the two-day range gravity.

Leading reigning champion Manoel Nunes by only three winners, Queiroz could ill-afford to forgo a full book of rides at the next meeting on May 4.

At the same time, a deferment would mean missing the next two – May 12 and May 18, which is Kranji Mile day.

Queiroz was between a rock and a hard place. In the end, he did not sacrifice either, even if his pocket took a hit.

With no bookings made on May 12, he serves the first one-day ban then, but the second day is commuted to a $6,000 fine.

Queiroz was off the hook, he was free to ride on May 18, but the twist of the tale is he does not even have a ride in the $1 million Group 1 Kranji Mile (1,600m).

Rumours had already spread that he had been jocked off the Tim Fitzsimmons-trained Dream Alliance, but it should not take too long for a premiership leader to get snapped up.

He did, but jockeys’ musical chairs can be a hard game to master, not to mention Brazilian names (currently six on the Kranji riding roster).

“Steven Burridge was the first to ask me if I had any ride in the Kranji Mile. When I said I didn’t, he gave me the ride on Street Of Dreams,” he said.

“But, he then told me the owner (Joe Singh) actually wanted to book Bernardo Pinheiro, and he got the names mixed up.”

The Australian trainer apologised profusely, even if he still saw the lighter side of his blunder.

“My Brazilian Portuguese isn’t very good,” he said sheepishly.

Burridge, who has as many as four entries vying for a berth in the former invitational contest, did try to make it up to Queiroz.

“Mr Burridge then gave me the ride on Cavalry. I even rode that horse in a trial last week (April 25) and was supposed to ride him in the Class 2 race this Saturday (May 4),” said Queiroz.

“Then I found out the Thai owners’ (Falcon and King Power) manager Eric Koh wanted Ruan Maia to ride him instead.”

Having gone through the revolving doors so many times to end up with nothing, it begs the question why he would still pay $6,000 for a ticket to ride.

Granted, with 30 wins under his belt, Queiroz is not a cash-strapped jockey, but it is still a pretty penny.

On face value, the fine quid pro quo was a smart gamble worth taking for a $50,000 return – jockeys take a 5 per cent cut of the stakes money.

But it turned out Queiroz still had three other solid arguments to not be on the bench on May 18.

“I’ve got Ace Of Diamonds in the Singapore Guineas, Lim’s Saltoro in the Class 1 (1,200m) and Pacific Vampire in the Class 3 (1,400m),” he said.

“They are the real reasons why I couldn’t afford to miss that meeting on May 18. They are three top rides.

“I was still happy with Ace Of Diamonds’ run last Saturday (in the Group 2 Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic).

“Even if his barrier (eight) was no good, he did jump into a comfortable spot. But he was three wide and, as he’s got a short sprint, that didn’t help.”

Queiroz’s full card on May 4 may not comprise such heavyweights, but are decent enough to keep him at the top.

“Bransom in the last race is my best chance,” said Queiroz, who rode the Brazen Beau four-year-old to second place at his last start.

“I’ve got Istataba in the main race ($85,000 Class 2 race over 1,600m), but Makin and Cavalry will be hard to beat.”

Queiroz rode the Argentinian-bred mare once, finishing third to Makin. She gave Burridge’s Singapore Derby prospect 3kg then, but is in receipt of 3.5kg this time.

“Istataba has less weight, and Makin has drawn wide in 11 this time. You never know,” he said.

manyan@sph.com.sg