Former eight-time Macau champion jockey Luis Corrales wouldn’t have been accustomed to such downtime between winners, as he endured since relocating to Kranji. However, he’s finally on the board after guiding home the Richard Lim-trained Combustion to victory in the Class 5 Division 1 1600m handicap at Kranji on Saturday, June 1.
Having made the move to Singapore before its imminent closure in October following the cessation of racing in Macau, it took Corrales seven weeks and 28 rides to notch his first win.
And with that, all the Macau departees are finally on the board, after jockeys Ruan Maia and Charles Perkins already saluted in prior weeks since relocating to the Lion City.
“I’m an experienced rider. It’s a new place, so I knew I had to keep working hard and slowly, slowly, I would pick up the rides,” he said in an article published by Michael Lee in The New Paper.
“My rides were actually fine. It was just that sometimes it was not the right horse or the right moment.
“The rest is really up to me to prove myself. I’ve always had confidence in my ability, I just kept working hard and, finally, it’s paid off today.”
Panamanian-born jockey Corrales secured his eighth champion jockey title in Macau last year.
Corrales first claimed the title in 2012-13 and went on to win four consecutively. His next series of championship-winning years started in 2019-20, culminating in another four-year dominance on the jockey roster.
