Jason Waddell to stay six more months

SINGAPORE,  29 October 2004

Champion New Zealand apprentice Jason Waddell has been granted a six-month extension to his riding licence by the Singapore Turf Club and will remain indentured to trainer Laurie Laxon until 25 April 2005.

Waddell, 18, arrived in Singapore in late July, just before the conclusion of the 2003/04 season during which he rode 79 winners and finished fifth overall.

At Kranji, Waddell quickly established himself as a top jockey, booting home 20 winners and achieved an an excellent win strike rate of 17.1%.

The Singapore Turf Club has also granted freelance jockey permits to three expatriate riders, Italian Marco Monteriso and Australians Malcolm Pay and Troy Jackman.

Monteriso, 26, currently heads the Italian jockeys premiership with 106 wins and has ridden over 750 winners todate. Monteriso has been granted a three-month license from 31 December 2004 to 31 March 2005 and goes to scale at 53kg.

Pay, 40, who last rode in Singapore in 1986, has over 20 years’ experience in the saddle with more than 1,750 wins to his credit. Pay, who is currently licenced by Racing Victoria, has been granted a six-month licence from 22 January 2005 to 22 July 2005 and goes to scale at 53.5kg.

Jackman, 35, currently riding in Western Australia, also rode in Singapore in 1990 but his more recent overseas success was in Mauritius where he won most of the major races. Jackman, who goes to scale at 52.5kg, has been granted a six-month licence from 8 January 2005 to 8 July 2005.