Kiwi Trainers Leave Lasting Legacy in Singapore

Singapore racing’s final chapter will be written in the S$1.38m Grand Singapore Gold Cup (2000m) this Saturday, ending a proud history at Kranji that several New Zealanders have enriched with their skills and horses.

Respected Kiwi trainers Laurie Laxon, Mark Walker, Stephen Gray, Bruce Marsh, Paddy Busuttin and Donna Logan have combined to win more than 3000 races in Singapore since the late 1990s. Many of those successes came from horses that were bred in New Zealand or sold through the Karaka sale ring.

 

LAURIE LAXON

Laurie Laxon headed to Singapore in 1999 after a highly successful New Zealand career, which featured memorable international triumphs such as the Melbourne Cup (3200m) with Empire Rose (NZ) (Sir Tristram), the Hong Kong International Cup (1800m) with Romanee Conti (NZ) (Sir Tristram), and multiple Group One successes and a Melbourne Cup second placing with Champagne (NZ) (Zabeel).

But Laxon surpassed those achievements in his unrivalled Singapore career. By 2014 he had won nine premierships, including becoming the first trainer to reach 100 wins in a single Singapore season in 2004. He later bettered that record with 104 wins in 2008.

Laxon trained a total 1263 winners in Singapore, which is believed to be a world record for a trainer at any single venue.

One of the many star performers to go through Laxon’s all-conquering Kranji stable was Waikato (NZ) (Pins), who he bought for $50,000 from the 2005 Premier Sale at Karaka.

Waikato went on to win 19 races and more than S$3m, including feature-race successes in the Kranji Mile (1600m), the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2000m), the Singapore 4YO Sprint (1200m), the Saas Fee Stakes (1400m) and two editions of the Jumbo Jet Trophy (1400m).

The $26,000 Karaka purchase Why Be (Success Express) became a two-time Singapore Horse of the Year. He won 21 races and earned over A$2m, headed by victories in the Kranji Sprint (1200m), Lion City Cup (1200m), Fischer Stakes (1200m), Singapore 3YO Challenge (1200m) and Juvenile Championship (1200m).

When Laxon sadly died in 2021 at the age of 75, his close friend and former NZB chairman Joe Walls, paid tribute to him for flying the New Zealand flag in Singapore during his trailblazing Kranji career.

“Laurie was an outstanding trainer and horseman who was particularly skilled with fillies and mares,” Walls said.

“His astute horsemanship was noted by a number of successful breeders, most notably Peter and Philip Vela, and they had some great times together.

“When Laurie went to Singapore, he remained staunchly loyal to the New Zealand-bred and much of his success there was down to the horses he sourced from New Zealand.”

 

BRUCE MARSH

A multiple Group One-winning jockey and trainer who started out in Woodville, Bruce Marsh followed in Laurie Laxon’s footsteps up to Singapore and himself made an indelible mark.

Marsh won 417 races over a 14-year career at Kranji, including two victories in the coveted Singapore Derby (2000m) with Kiwi-bred stars Hello And Goodbye (NZ) (Danzalion) and Race Ahead (NZ) (Al Akbar).

Marsh also won the Woodlands Stakes (2000m) and Admiralty Classic Stakes (1600m) with Knight’s Command (NZ) (Pins), who was bought for $250,000 from the 2009 Premier Sale at Karaka.

When Marsh departed Singapore to return home to New Zealand in 2019, he told the Singapore Turf Club that he was leaving with fond memories of the Kranji racing community.

“It’s been a marvellous ride,” he said. “I came to Singapore thanks to Laurie (Laxon) and I certainly did not regret the move.

“Laurie told me there were boxes waiting for me. ‘Just get up here.’ I visited the place, and the next thing I know Kay and I moved. We really enjoyed the lifestyle.

“The racing (in Singapore) has been so great, the structure of racing has been so good. In New Zealand we went to three to four meetings a week, we drove around 67,000km in a car every year. We made some great friends and welcomed some lovely owners.

“How can I not mention Mr Lui, the owner of Hello And Goodbye? He disagreed with me that horse could win the Derby and in protest, decided not to wear a tie to the races. That was the only day he didn't wear a tie to the races, and Hello And Goodbye led all the way. That was my first Singapore win after 15 or 17 runners, it was wonderful.

“Race Ahead went into his Derby as the only runner to have raced and won over 2000m, which he did in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup. That made him my biggest certainty in a major race, and he won accordingly. I told Opie (Bosson, jockey) he would be in the first three, don't be scared to put the brakes down as he would outstay them and it went to plan.”

 

MARK WALKER

An instrumental part of Te Akau Racing’s development into a multi-national force over the last couple of decades, Mark Walker has won four trainers’ premierships in Singapore to go with his six and counting in New Zealand.

Walker began his Singapore tenure in 2010 and won premiership titles in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021. He was runner-up on another three occasions, as well as a third and a fourth. He won a total of 684 races at Kranji before returning to New Zealand in 2022. He lifted his worldwide total to 2000 wins with a victory at Riccarton in Christchurch last weekend.

Many of Walker’s feature-race wins in Singapore came with horses that were bought at Karaka by Te Akau principal David Ellis, including:

• Flying Fulton (Flying Spur), who was bought for $210,000 from the 2008 Ready to Run Sale. His Singapore career produced 11 wins and 11 placings from 53 starts, banking more than S$1.3m. His victories included the Committee’s Prize (1600m), New Year Cup (1900m), PolyTrack Mile Championship (1600m), Colonial Chief Stakes (1700m) and Marsiling Classic Stakes (1800m).
• Superstar galloper War Affair (NZ) (O’Reilly), who was a $70,000 purchase by Ellis from the 2012 Premier Sale. He began his glittering career for Walker, winning the Golden Horseshoe (1200m) and Juvenile Championship (1200m), and he later went on to win a total of 16 races and more than S$3m.
• Distinctive Darci (NZ) (Darci Brahma), who cost $100,000 at the 2015 Premier Sale. He was a nine-time winner in Singapore and amassed over S$920,000, including a big win in the S$500,000 Merlion Trophy (1200m).

 

STEPHEN GRAY

Another of New Zealand’s big Singapore success stories is Stephen Gray, who added 825 wins at Kranji to his tally of just under 400 in New Zealand in partnership with his father Kevin.

Gray and his wife Bridget moved to Singapore in 2000 and enjoyed more than two decades of outstanding success until this year’s Kranji closure prompted their return home.

“It’s such a pity when you think back to how good Singapore was,” Gray commented earlier this year. “That feeling of pride that you were doing well in what I rate an even tougher environment than Hong Kong with having to run the business side of things as well.

“We’ve got no regrets about the years we spent up there – most were fantastic, we trained a lot of winners for good people, we took horses to Hong Kong and Royal Ascot. I just wish it could have ended better, that’s all.”

Among Gray’s standout Singapore horses was Bahana (NZ) (Elusive City), who was a $100,000 purchase from the 2013 Ready to Run Sale. He had 36 starts for seven wins, five placings and more than S$1.27m, including the S$1.35m Singapore Gold Cup (2200m) in 2016.

Given Vision (Belong To Me) cost only $10,000 at the 2007 Select Sale. He won five of his nine starts and S$835,875, including the Singapore Guineas (1600m) and the Singapore 3YO Classic (1400m). He also placed in the Raffles Cup (1800m) and Singapore Gold Cup (2200m).

Goldschatz (NZ) (Pins) turned his $12,000 purchase price at the 2005 Spring Bloodstock Sale into more than S$675,000, winning eight times in a 41-race career including the Fortune Bowl (2000m) and the Woodlands Classic (2000m).
 

PADDY BUSUTTIN

Another Kiwi trainer who flew the flag on the Singapore stage was Paddy Busuttin, who was at Kranji from 1997 to 2006 and finished among the top five on the trainers’ premiership in all of his first five seasons.

Busuttin’s headline performer at Kranji was the great Bocelli (NZ) (Lord Ballina), who was Singapore’s Horse of the Year in 2001. He won nine races, eight of them in succession including the Singapore Derby (2000m), Patron’s Bowl (1400m) and Singapore Derby Trial (1600m) – an unprecedented treble. Bocelli earned more than S$1.67m.

 

DONNA LOGAN

The most recent addition to this list is Donna Logan, whose former base at Ruakaka produced a series of trans-Tasman Group One stars such as Rising Romance (NZ) (Ekraar), Volkstok’n’barrell (NZ) (Tavistock), Habibi (NZ) (Ekraar), Victory Smile (NZ) (Victory Dance), Valley Girl (NZ) (Mastercraftsman) and Vapour Trail (NZ) (Jetball).

Logan moved to Singapore in 2018 and became only the second female trainer to hold a licence at Kranji. She has gone on to win 189 races in Singapore, including the S$1m Kranji Mile with Minister (Street Sense).

Logan took over Te Akau Racing’s Singapore operation when Mark Walker returned to Matamata in 2022, and she has overseen a steady stream of successes for the Te Akau and Fortuna operations throughout the two years since.

Her recent winners include Te Akau Ben (NZ) (Tavistock), who was bought by David Ellis for $115,000 from Book 1 of Karaka 2019. His 22-start career has produced five wins, seven placings and more than S$200,000 in stakes.

Charminton (NZ) (Charm Spirit) was a $65,000 purchase from Book 1 of Karaka 2020 and has turned that into more than S$240,000 from a 35-start, four-win career.

China Pearl (NZ) (Ardrossan) was bought by Ellis and Donna Logan Racing Stables for $70,000 from the 2022 Ready to Run Sale. He was a winner at Kranji in late December.

 

These respected trainers are just some of the Kiwis who have left a lasting legacy in Singapore racing. The final raceday takes place on Saturday 5 October with the running of the S$1.38m Grand Singapore Gold Cup (2000m).