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Brazilian jockey
Nelito Cunha, who had managed just two
seconds in 19 starts since making his Singapore debut early last month, was
off the mark when everyone least expected at Kranji tonight.
TOP
HAPPINESS (Bertolini - Mal by St Hilarion) had finished down the field in
three previous starts and went
off in the opening race, the Maiden - 1400m handicap, at $338.
After racing handily in
fourth spot on settling down, Cunha managed to take a gap on the inside of
horses in the home stretch and steered TOP HAPPINESS to a three-length win.
"I’m
very happy I’ve finally ridden my first winner in Singapore. I heard he was
not well fancied but after I worked him a few times, I told (trainer) Leslie
(Khoo) to remove the shadow roll and use winkers instead.
"The horse travelled very well and gave a nice kick in the home straight,"
he said in a post-race interview with leading jockey Joao Moreira acting as
interpreter.
Cunha celebrated the breakthrough with a
second winner on the night when successful on the aptly-named NEWFOUNDLUCK (Takbir
- Island Account by Classic Account) in the final event of the evening.
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