Apprentice J Nizam off the mark

PENANG,  24 October 2004

Apprrentice Mohamed Nizam (J Nizam) got off the mark when he partnered REMUS RACING to victory in the Class 5, Div 3 - 1,400m handicap here today.

Since he started riding on the local circuit a few weeks ago, opportunities for the young lad had been few and far between.

He had only six rides prior to today and was unplaced twice this afternoon before striking on the six-year-old bay New Zealand gelding by Volksraad out of the Grosvenor mare Zippo, who was winless in 12 previous starts.

J Nizam commenced his Apprentice Jockey training with the Western Australian Turf Club in September 2002, together with H K Lim.

He received his permit to ride in races on 18 March 2003 and rode in 80 races for 5 wins, 4 seconds and 5 thirds.

During his time in Perth, he was attached to trainer Sean Casey who found him to be a hard working, diligent and reliable apprentice.  In fact Casey could not be more complimentary of Nizam's attitude and aptitude.

In the latter part of his stay in Perth, Nizam started to ride with judgement and maturity which demonstrated that the additional time spent here has not been wasted.  Many apprentices from the MRA only remain for 12 months - Nizam elected to stay longer to gain more experience before returning home.