BRAZILIAN CHASING ANOTHER BRAZILIAN

Michael Lee A sixth title might not be the be-all and end-all for any champion.

- Michael Lee

It is more than likely that Brazilian jockey Manoel Nunes would feel no different.

Bar his third crown in 2016, he always streeted his Kranji rivals from a long way out.

Still, the competitive 48-yearold is as keen as ever to add one more such feather to his cap. Bruno Queiroz has already thrown the gauntlet; the younger Brazilian leads him by two wins (53 v 51) with four meetings left till Oct 5.

To go down in history as the last top hoop in the annals of Singapore racing is not lost on him either.

However, it is a sub-plot that is more in his crosshairs these days interestingly, to gun down another Brazilian, and a lot more famous.

"I'd like to pass Joao Moreira's 737 wins at Kranji," said Nunes.

"I'm only six wins behind, and there are 40 races left. It's doable."

Besides Saimee Jumaat, Moreira is arguably the jockey who put the most bums on seats at Kranji, albeit during only a relatively short reign from 2009 to 2013.

The jockey they call Magic Man beat Nunes into second place at the one season they competed in Singapore 2013.

Nunes' haul of 112 winners would draw praise all round for any newcomer, but it was still a whopping 67 winners behind Moreira, who did not even complete the season.