Fairway's Turf Online

Nunes heads expatriate cast for 2014

SINGAPORE: Nov 20, 2013

Manoel Nunes, who has hit a century in his very first season in Singapore this year, heads a list of five expatriate jockeys who have been granted one-year licences for the 2014 season.

The others are Ivaldo Santana, Alan Munro, Barend Vorster and Corey Brown.

Nunes, 37, came to Singapore after winning five titles in Macau and was an instant hit at Kranji. His 105 winners thus far included SPEEDY CAT in the Group 2 Stewards’ Cup and has Group 3 wins in the Polytrack Mile Championship, the Merlion Trophy and the Yew Tee Classic Stakes.

He is only the third jockey to ride more than 100 winners in Singapore after Noel Callow (107 winners in 2007) and Joao Moreira (116 in 2010, 153 in 2011, 206 last year and 179 this year before heading for Hong Kong last month).

Santana, 31, joined the Singapore riding ranks in January 2012. His 2013 season has been cut short by injury with the Brazilian only recently coming back from a three-month lay-off. Still, he has 34 winners to his credit this year and partnered STEPITUP to win all three legs of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge.

Epsom Derby winning jockey Munro, 46, first rode here in 2011 on a short stint before joining long-term in February 2012. He currently sits in third place on the table with 75 winners, most notable with BETTER LIFE in the Emirates Singapore Derby and SUPER NINETYSEVEN in the Raffles Cup.

Vorster, 36, has been a mainstay in Singapore since January 2004. He currently sits fourth in the table with 58 winners, the biggest being FLAX in the Group 2 Chairman’s Trophy. He also has Group 3 victories in the Admiralty Classic Stakes, the Woodlands Handicap and Causeway Classic Stakes.

Brown, 37, came to Singapore in April and was an instant success. After a brief stint in France during July and August, Brown returned to claim Group 3 victories in the Jumbo Jet Trophy and Garden City Trophy. He is currently sixth in the table with 39 winners.

Danny Beasley and John Powell have been granted six-month licences from Jan 1 while Lisa Allpress has been given a seven-month extension from Dec 1.