WISH I WAS THERE, IT IS WHAT IT IS: DURIC

Injury, holiday, timing, weight rule S'pore champion jockey out of Gls and Gold Cup

- Michael Lee

Fans of four-time Singapore champion jockey Vlad Duric will be sad to learn that the Australian will not ride at Kranji any more.

The popular hoop took everybody by surprise when he returned to Australia in March.

He did, however, left the door open when he said he would be back for the major races before Singapore closes down on Oct 5.

His decision to dodge his Victorian home state for Queensland instead was right on the money.

Duric hit his straps at his new hunting ground right from Day 1, scooping winners in spades, mainly at Eagle Farm and Doomben.

But true to his word, he did fly back in for hit-and-runs in the Group 2 Stewards' Cup (1,600m) on June 30 and the Group 1 Singapore Derby (1,800m) on July 21.

His ride Bestseller could not win, though, finishing second and fourth respectively, beaten by Lim's Saltoro on both occasions.

In four other bookings on the undercard, the mercurial jockey could fare no better than a second aboard Pacific Padrino on Stewards' Cup day.

But his name has not popped back up on a Kranji racecard since, be it at the next Group 1s, the Lion City Cup (1,200m) on July 28 or the Raffles Cup (1,600m) on Aug 11.