Jockey Nooresh Juglall, a Mauritian who trained at the South African Jockeys’ Academy, quickly bounced back from a recent race fall injury with a win it his very first ride since the accident.

He took a heavy tumble from Rusty Brown in the penultimate race on 5 February after his mount appeared to clip heels at the 700m marker. At first there were some fears he might be out of action for a while, having hurt his tongue and cheeks.

Nooresh Juglall

A doctor’s review of his condition a few days later gave him the green light to return to race riding as early as this past weekend, meaning he missed only the previous week’s double meeting.

Booked on five rides on Friday and another seven on Sunday, Juglall did not take long to find his way to a place he had already visited nine times this year before the fall.

Partnering a horse he had steered to a creditable fourth on debut in spite of a bad draw – Southern Glory – Juglall elected for the same tactics aboard the Bruce Marsh charge in the $75,000 Restricted Maiden over 1400m, dropping back and only touching his mount for a run on straightening.

The 1100m of his debut had proven too short, but Southern Glory had 300m more to exploit this time. Favourite Redoubt (Glen Boss) looked to have the race at his mercy, but Southern Glory stormed home on the outside to deny him by a neck.

“I’m glad I was able to win on my very first ride back from injury,” said Juglall.

“You don’t want such injuries to happen, but you can’t escape them sometimes. I’d like to thank the trainer and the owner, David Goh, for putting me on such a nice horse.” – Singapore Turf Club