MUTED ELATION AS RACEGOERS THRONG KRANJI FOR LAST TIME

Smart Star's stunning victory in Grand Singapore Gold Cup not the only shock

- Brian Miller

The last race at Kranji has been run.

As a die-hard racing fan for longer than I care to remember, I was of course upset.

To be honest, I have been an infrequent visitor at Kranji of late, but I somehow got out of my lazy Saturdays to make it a point to pay a last visit.

So it was, on Oct 5, I abandoned the car and took the train from Bukit Batok to the Kranji station.

I knew that, on a raceday, there was no better place to get a feel of the occasion than on that train to Kranji. I had ridden it only a few times before and, with my fellow travellers being mostly racegoers, it was always non-stop horse talk.

We traded tips and stories - a lot of dull wit. Still, we laughed a lot. But that last time was different.

Some of the odd-balls were there but there was a sad silence as we rambled along. It was palpable. It was like we were, truly, on our way to pay a last visit to our favourite restaurant or bar closing down.

The short trip seemed to take ages and I was relieved when we finally pulled into the station.

Perhaps, I thought, the mood would be brighter at the racetrack. I could not have been more wrong.

The first race came and went. Same with the second, third, fourth and fifth.

Sure, there were some tight finishes and some cheers when a few favourites obliged. I lost a few bucks, but strangely remembered not feeling too hurt in the pocket.

I sensed little emotion among my kakis, too.

The end of a much loved sport like horse racing just did not make much sense to us.