Fradd's timing in Derby is perfect
Robbie Fradd took time out from his summer holiday to help long-time friend Patrick Shaw out of a tight spot in yesterday's S$1 million Emirates Singapore Derby and was well rewarded when Our Falstaff scored a comprehensive win.
The Hong Kong-based club jockey (pictured) was at his brilliant best on Our Falstaff, who started at 3.4-1 on the Singapore tote. He overcame the disadvantage of an outside barrier with a patient ride and swooped on the leaders with a perfectly-timed run from 200 metres out to land the Group One race by 21/4 lengths.
Shaw took over the training of Our Falstaff after the four-year-old failed in the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth Cup at Sha Tin in April and the Singapore Airlines International Cup in May, when trained by Mike de Kock.
The experienced South African trainer ordered a gelding operation for Our Falstaff after the Singapore international race and yesterday's classic was his first run since then.
Although Our Falstaff was a well-bet second favourite, Shaw was anything but confident of success.
'He didn't recover from the gelding operation as we would have liked, and contracted an infection,' Shaw explained. 'He was off his feed for quite a while and lost a lot of weight, but he really turned the corner in the last week or so.
'But having not raced since the middle of May, it was hard to be confident. But I knew that if he was anywhere close to his best, he'd be too good for them.'
Fradd commended the Singapore Turf Club on having run 'a great event'.
'It's been a wonderful day, and this is a beautiful racecourse,' Fradd said. 'It's been a great thrill to come here and win this race for Pat and [owner] Bernard Kantor. I really hope I can come back again at some stage in the future.'
