Melody Fair revives Khoo's memories

Veteran trainer Leslie Khoo was also taking a stroll down memory lane when he made his way towards the winner’s circle for the first time this year.

Melody Fair’s win as the $17 chance in Saturday’s Maiden race over 1,600m not only brought him flashbacks of his first win as a jockey 50 years ago, but also time-travelled him to the heady days of the swinging seventies.

“My first winner as an apprentice jockey was also a horse called Melody Fair for Ivan Allan,” said the 68-year-old Singaporean. 

“I decided to call this horse Melody Fair purely for sentimental reasons and now he’s given me my first 2022 winner.

“Ivan had two American friends who used to sing Elvis Presley songs. The two sisters also sang Melody Fair by the Bee Gees.”

The seven-time Malayan Racing Association champion trainer and three-time Hong Kong champion was one of Khoo’s biggest supporters during the Katong boy’s early days in the saddle.

While the win by Melody Fair’s rebooted version has taken Khoo back to events from many moons ago, he can only hope it will not be a once-in-a-blue-moon affair. 

Khoo has been going through one of his worst starts to a season since he moved his stables from Ipoh to Kranji in 2008. 

It has been a slog of 216 days without greeting the judge, since Super Generous on Nov 6 last year.

Times have not always been that bad since his first Kranji winner Joe And Jayzeeca on July 4, 2008. 

At only his third season in 2011, he finished runner-up to Patrick Shaw on 66 winners and stayed in the Top 10 in the next two years.

He then steadied the ship with mid-table finishes and decent double-figure hauls until 2019 when the rot set in. Covid-19 exacerbated the slide, but this present season takes the cake.

Khoo was left with the unenviable wooden spoon after 100 runners returned winless and joyless.

He was the last of the 22 trainers to still have a duck’s egg next to his name – until Saturday.

Fans who have been missing his easy-going ways and odd dad jokes at post-race interviews got their fill when he finally “broke the egg”.

“I’m happy I’ve broken the egg. This egg was no normal egg, it was an ostrich egg,” said Khoo, who was logging in his 453rd winner.

“I’d like to thank all the trainers who congratulated and supported me in the trainer’s room.

“It’s taken me six months to get my first winner. I’d also like to thank the owner (LSS Stable) for his support.”

Two years ago, Khoo would never have guessed a lack of support would bring him down on his knees.

“I didn’t buy new horses for two years. I had only old horses left. I needed new blood to get going again,” he said.

“It’s only now that I’ve been able to buy four to five new horses and, of the lot, Melody Fair has acclimatised a bit faster. 

“He is more forward. I was quite confident he would run in the first three today.”

Ridden by Benny Woodworth, the Duelled four-year-old settled four pairs back, before taking a drag behind the $14 favourite Lim’s Puncak Jaya (Jake Bayliss) from the 500m mark.

Long shot Missile Rain (Koh Teck Huat) boldly clung on to his lead. He eventually caved in when Lim’s Puncak Jaya momentarily took the lead.

But the last swooper home was Khoo’s nod to his milestone horse from half a century away.

Being two decades younger, Woodworth was not born yet then, but the Malaysian remembers the days they were peers in the saddle.

“I’m very happy I won for Leslie. It’s very special as I rode with Leslie when he was a jockey,” he said.

“To win for him, especially his first winner this year, I’m happy for him, and I’m happy for myself.”