SINGAPORE:  Aug 30, 2010

South African rider Felix Coetzee will partner ROCKET MAN who is returning to racing in the S$200,000 Woodlands Handicap over 1200m at Kranji this Sunday.

ROCKET MAN last raced in May when he finished second to GREEN BIRDIE in the Group 1 KrisFlyer International Sprint (1200m).

The Singapore Turf Club has granted Coetzee a five-day jockey’s licence from tomorrow so he can work the Singapore champion in his lead-up to the Singapore Group 3 race, a new event in the Singapore racing calendar.

Currently licenced by the National Horse Racing Authority South Africa, Coetzee had been sought by trainer Patrick Shaw to ride ROCKET MAN in placed of his regular rider Robbie Fradd.

Coetzee has been riding for 34 years and has tallied more than 3,000 winners throughout his career winning the Gold Cup in South Africa on seven occasions. He had considerable success in Hong Kong during a 16 year stint and has won numerous feature races around the world.