NOT GOING WITHOUT PARTING $432 SHOT

Short-lived comeback does not stop Sazali from applying new tricks to winning effect

- Michael Lee

Singapore Turf Club assistant steward Noh Senari was the first to praise apprentice jockey Sazali Ramli about his ambidexterity after his thrilling last-gasp win on Sept 14.

"Well done, I saw you change your whip to the left hand. It sure helped your horse win," said Noh, a former jockey.

The horse in question was a $432 rank outsider, the David Koktrained Screen Shot who, from making heavy weather of it at the 300m of the $50,000 Class 4 race (1,700m), suddenly started to lengthen up.

He lunged late to beat Red Dragon (Wong Chin Chuen) by a nose.

A right-hander, Sazali decided to turn southpaw, more by design than by instinct. He had watched the common manoeuvre on YouTube, albeit his was not as slick.

"The horse wanted to back off. I then switched the whip to the left hand, and he found another gear,”" said Sazali, whose master is trainer Steven Burridge.

"I watched many videos and saw jockeys do that. Before that, I seldom used the whip in the left hand.