By Larry Foley, Singapore Turf Club
Not much happens overnight in the racing game, but in what seems like ‘a blink of an eye’, principal of Jig Racing, Josh McLoughlan, has a big hand in the $1 million Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup (2000m) with two runners, Mr Black Back and Trumpy on Saturday.
Besides that, he also has the ultra-talented four-year-old, Golden Monkey, first-up in the $100,000 Class 1 race over 1200m and the progressive Dream Alliance in the $50,000 Class 4 Division 2 race over 1400m, and it looks a big day on paper for the Australian bloodstock agent.
It starts early in the week with trackwork, entertaining visiting owners and in his spare time, McLoughlan continues his search for more bloodstock for his Singapore clients.
“It’s a busy week but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” said McLoughlan on Tuesday.
“I’ve been involved in Singapore racing for about seven years as a bloodstock agent and started Jig Racing about a year ago.
“To have two runners in the Gold Cup and Golden Monkey back racing on the same day is a real thrill.”
The planets do seem to have aligned for McLoughlan with his recent purchases but while he concedes luck always plays a part in racing, both the horses’ ability and soundness issues are what matters when it comes to purchasing one.
“Look, it’s a bit of a ‘catch-22’ situation but good horses push themselves to the limit – try harder – so they are often the ones with issues,” he said.
“So trying to source horses with ability that tick the soundness box is a task in itself.
“But while our (Jig Racing) policy means that we walk away from a lot of good horses, the benefits will be there in the long run. Owners pay a lot of money, so they deserve that peace of mind.
“It’s not foolproof by any means and it’s never easy, but we keep looking and ticking those boxes for horses that will suit Singapore.”
2021 Wagga Guineas winner Mr Black Back ticked enough boxes back in Australia to be purchased by Jig Bloodstock but given the five-year-old by Snitzel only arrived in Singapore late May this year on a rating of 67, it has been nothing short of an equine miracle to even get into the Gold Cup field.
“We had our eye on him when he raced as Maranoa (Mr Black Back’s previous name in Australia) before the Guineas win, but that victory put a big price on his head,” explained McLoughlan.
“But we kept on asking and finally got him after he ran second to Zoo Station in March.
“He only got to (trainer) Tim’s (Fitzsimmons) stable in June so for him to get to the trials in late July, that was a big effort by Tim and his team.
“We knew he was a Gold Cup horse but time was against us so we raced him on the Poly(track) sooner than we wanted and the trip (1200m) was always going to be too short.
“But he placed (third behind Knight’s Gambit on September 10) and that gave him the fitness he needed to show his best over 1400m next (won in the Class 4 race on October 2) and that gave us some hope as his rating went up to 73.
“It was still a race in time to get his ratings high enough to get a start in the Gold Cup but the win over 1800m (in the Class 3 race on October 15) showed how good he is over a trip and 79 points snuck us into the final field – just!”
It was a remarkable effort when you look at the timeline and one that McLoughlan puts down to the trainer, as much as the Black House Stable-owned gelding.
“Tim has done a fantastic job,” he said.
“He’s meticulous and doesn’t take shortcuts. I know he has the best interests of the horse at heart, so we wouldn’t have progressed this far so quickly if Mr Black Back wasn’t thriving.
“So while it has been tight, the horse had a great preparation – improved with fitness each run with two Class records to show for it – and he’s nearing 100% at the right time.”
Mr Black Back has been handicapped at 51kgs for the Gold Cup (Hongkong Great tops the field on 57kgs) but with lightweight jockey options at the top level limited in Singapore, McLoughlan looked elsewhere for the plum ride.
“We knew if Mr Black Back got a start in the Gold Cup, he would carry no weight so we always had it in mind to get a world-class rider that could obviously ride very light,” he said.
“(Jockey) Craig Williams certainly fits that bill. He’s good friends with (jockey) Vlad (Duric) who knows our horse well, so we asked Vlad to touch base with Craig and he was more than happy to come up and ride.
“He’s won the Gold Cup a couple of times before (in 2016 with Bahana and in 2019 with Mr Clint) and we have him booked for Golden Monkey as well as he’s only got 50kgs in the Class 1 race.”
Golden Monkey is first-up after an unlucky yet eye-catching third behind Lim’s Kosciuszko at weight-for-age conditions in the Group 1 Lion City Cup (1200m) on August 14, so the light weight could make the difference come Saturday.
“He did it very tough from the wide gate in the Lion City (Cup), so the run was enormous,” said McLoughlan of the Group 2 Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic (1400m) and Group 3 Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint (1200m) winner.
“We wanted to put him out till next year after that run but after two weeks out he was kicking the place down, so Tim said that it was best to get him back into work.
“This race stood out as a good option – we meet Lim’s Kosciuszko 5.5kgs better off – and after a good trial last week (won trial no. 2 in the time of 1 min 0.25 secs), he’s ready to go.”
Of his other Gold Cup runner – Trumpy – McLoughlan was just as excited, even though the seven-year-old Argentinean-bred gelding has only managed one win from 26 races in Singapore.
“Don’t leave him out!” he declared.
“He may hate winning and has a mind of his own but (jockey) Harry (A’Isisuhairi Kasim) has been keen to ride him in the Gold Cup since he first sat on him and has a good record on him too.
“(Owners) Vic and Craig (Elvin) are my biggest supporters, so I hope he runs super for them. I think he can.”
