By Michael Lee, Singapore Turf Club
Racing managers have been part of the Kranji landscape for a while, but two stood out of late – Mick Dittman and Stephen Crutchley.
Dittman, or The Enforcer as he was known in his riding days both in Australia and Singapore (claim to fame was Kim Angel’s Singapore Gold Cup win in 2001), boasts the higher profile as the lynchpin to the powerful Lim’s Stable while Crutchley was happy to just be the unsung hero behind the Toast Trusts Stable’s stock.
But after being behind the scenes running the outfit owned by Singaporean businesswoman and former amateur jockey Constance Cheng, both as the racing manager and assistant-trainer, the time has come for the New Zealander horseman to step onto the big stage as a trainer in his own right.
Discreet and unassuming, the 54-year-old has shunned the limelight at his eight years at Kranji, but wearing the trainer’s mantle is not new to him.
While probably only his close-knit entourage and the racing industry back in New Zealand were in the know, it’s only after Crutchley was officially granted 30 boxes by the Singapore Turf Club, that we discovered the other side of the man we until then only knew as “Constance’s right-hand man” – someone who was already an accomplished trainer and horseman in his own backyard – and who could drop a few famous names – both human and equine – to boot!
“I trained for 12 years in Whanganui and I went all right with 115 winners,” he said.
“The best horse I trained was Mi Jubilee. She was a very good mare who inflicted the great Darci Brahma his first defeat when she won the Group 1 Ellerslie Sires Produce (2005).
“Two weeks before, she won the Group 2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes. Chris Waller then took over her training, and she was owned by Gordon Lambert, who will be one of the New Zealand owners who will send horses to me in Singapore.
“The other good horse I had was Rhysess who won the Group 3 Cuddle Stakes (2006). Chris Turner, who owned and trained the great Veandercross, bred him 50/50.
“I also had a lot of success in two-year-old series. I had a great affinity with babies.
“I was also selling a lot of horses when I wasn’t training, and one of them, Makkura, was the one who took me to Singapore.
“I didn’t know anyone when I first came as an agent to make a bit of money back in 2013. I was just told “Honest John” would sign me in at the track, and it turned out to be John O’Hara!
“That’s how I met Constance and Julia Ho, who were owners with John then, and they were interested to buy Makkura. I trained her in New Zealand where she won her only start in a 1200m race at Awapuni, and ended up selling her to them while keeping half of the shares.
“As they say, the rest is history, she went on to win eight races, including the Paititi Gold Trophy (2013) when she was trained by Laurie Laxon.”
Makkura was the lucky break that saw Crutchley and Cheng click for what was to become one of Kranji’s most enduring tandems, but the country boy from Whanganui still couldn’t have guessed that first introduction to Singapore racing would see him ditch the second leg of his return air-ticket!
Crutchley and Toast Trusts’ green and black hoops became indissociable, hence leading to his first job as assistant-trainer with fellow Kiwi Mark Walker when Cheng moved there the next year in 2014.
They have since done the rounds of a few yards from O’Hara (twice) to Theo Kieser and more recently, Leslie Khoo, with 2019 Group 2 EW Barker Trophy winner Fame Star as their next milestone horse after Makkura.
The US-bred eight-time winner might not be the sprinting force he used to be, but at a lofty rating of 92, he will spearhead the team of seven Toast Trusts horses who will finally race under the Crutchley banner, along with other stable transfers from other owners.
“I also have Mr Chua of RX Stable who will follow me with Born To Win and First Choice, as well as Dennis Loh,” he said.
“Like I said, Gordon will also send me some horses as well as Shane McDonnell, who already owns a share of Fame Star.
“I’m going to start with 12 horses in work, and I’m looking to have another 20 new horses for a first season.
“I’m very grateful to the Singapore Turf Club for having put their trust in me and given me a licence and stables.”
Trust is without a doubt an essential element in any new enterprise, but in Crutchley’s case, it resonates even more as he takes his career with the green and black hooped silks to the next level.
