Corrales a winner at 28th try

Panamanian jockey Luis Corrales was a relieved man after he finally returned to scales aboard his first Kranji winner, Combustion, on June 1.

The eight-time Macau champion jockey has been plying his trade in Singapore after horse racing shut down in Macau on April 1, but success had been elusive.

Alongside two other jockeys from the former Portuguese enclave, Ruan Maia and Charles Perkins, Corrales had jumped at the chance when the Singapore Turf Club granted a licence, grateful for the lifeline, albeit temporary.

Singapore racing's days are also numbered with its closing date on Oct 5.

However, the 45-year-old Corrales soon realised that, for all his glowing resume, the red carpet had not been rolled out.

It took him seven long weeks and 28 rides, mostly second-rate chances, to get the monkey off his back.

He was the last among the Macau trio to get off the mark, with Maia - who rode at Kranji before - and Perkins having already saluted.

The sluggish start was a jolt to the system for a jockey used to a steady stream of winners every week in Macau, but it never dented the diminutive hoop's resolve.

"I'm an experienced rider. It's a new place, so I knew I had to keep working hard and slowly, slowly, I would pick up the rides," he said.

"My rides were actually fine. It was just that sometimes it was not the right horse or the right moment.

"The rest is really up to me to prove myself. I've always had confidence in my ability, I just kept working hard and, finally, it's paid off today."

With more than 1,600 winners in nearly 30 years of riding, Corrales boasts a wealth of experience, which must have come in handy at that breakthrough aboard the Richard Lim-trained Combustion ($49) in the $30,000 Class 5 Division 1 race (1,600m).

A previous link-up with the New Zealand-bred four-year-old was another one of the many moving parts that paved the way to the win.

"Last time when he raced over 2,000m, the pace was slower. But when I first rode him, he dropped back to 1,600m, and there was more speed - he was one-paced," said Corrales.

"Today, he got the chance to control the pace and he kicked nicely in the straight.

"I actually thought Combustion had a good chance today, and in Race 8 as well but, unfortunately, the horse (City Gold Telecom) could only finish fourth."

Lim was pleased he had played a part in ending Corrales' long wait for that first visit to the winner's circle at Kranji.

But Corrales would certainly forgive the Singaporean trainer for smiling wider about the El Roca four-year-old breaking his own maiden tag at his 12th start.

"Last time, there was more speed in his race. He tried to go forward but he couldn't keep up," said the former jockey.

"The jockey got to know him better and rode him very well in the lead today.

"We knew there would be no speed, and that suits his style of racing.

"The rain also helped as he had wet form in New Zealand.

"He needs more ground, we will step him back up to 2,000m, but there aren't many races like that here."

Combustion was just the first spark to ignite a red-hot day for Lim.

Good-priced winners Happy Friday ($36) and Rook's Gambit ($41) later brought up a hat-trick of wins to cement his fifth place on the Singapore trainers' premiership on 20 victories.

Rook's Gambit signalled a winning comeback for apprentice jockey Jamil Sarwi, who was returning from a two-month suspension for not riding Bizar Wins to the satisfaction of the stewards in a race on March 9.

manyan@sph.com.sg