S John looking for a Radiant new start
The former Singapore champion apprentice jockey just came off a decent campaign in 2019. For a comeback after a one-year hiatus in 2018, he booted home 16 winners, a score which exceeds most of his previous tallies.
The last 10-odd years have been a rollercoaster ride, but one thing that had sorely been missing from his resume for a while now is a feature win. The last silverware came in the 2007 Group 3 Kranji Sprint aboard the Don Baertschiger-trained Always Fast.
A dozen years John is hopeful he can finally break the drought in Wednesday's $175,000 Group 3 New Year Cup (1200m) on a horse he has never ridden before, but who has shown in six outings he was ready to be feature winner material.
River Radiance is the conveyance. After four wins from six starts all on Polytrack, including three in a row at his last three outings, the latest coming in a comprehensive beating of handy Class 3 gallopers in a 5 1⁄2 f race on November Group racing time has arrived.
Having already seen those promising runs from the Mok Zhan Lun-trained Rip Van Winkle four-year-old, John cannot wait to see what is under the bonnet come raceday.
"I galloped him once on Saturday and he felt good. It was quite a good workout," said the Malaysian jockey who just returned from a family break in his Kuala Lumpur hometown.
"Mok told me he always works like this. I don't know the horse, but on his last three runs, he is obviously a very honest horse.
"I saw his wins; he loves the Polytrack and he is very strong to the line in his races. Still, this is a big test for him, but with the 51.5kgs (I will ride him 1.5kgs over), he should be competitive."
John is not too concerned either by the awkward alley in 12 given the gelding's adaptability to any racing pattern.
"I'm not too worried by the draw. There is plenty of speed in the race, and we should be able to get some cover in midfield," he said.
"It'd be nice to start the new year with a feature race win as I haven't won one for a while. I have six rides and River Radiance is by far my best chance for the day."
