12 Questions: Jason Singh

TDN: First job in the Thoroughbred industry?
Believe it or not, the one I'm in! I have worked for Tattersalls now for 22 years, having answered an advert for a marketing executive in the Racing Post back in 2000. I had previously run a very amateur racing website called Ausracing, but since it brought me no income, it could hardly be called a job.

TDN: Biggest influence on your career?
Always a hard one, but perhaps it was the friend who took me to Sandown racecourse in Melbourne's Eastern suburbs back in 1987 despite being only 15 years old. I had 50 cents each way on a horse called Boley's Girl who won at 33/1. I think I was hooked from that moment on.

TDN: Favourite racehorse of all time, and why?
I want to take the liberty of splitting this into two, one being when I lived in Australia and one being since I moved to England. In Australia it was a horse called Vo Rogue, trained by a battler called Vic Rail who was virtually impassable and ran races from the front at a fast pace, although horses such as Better Loosen Up, Beau Zam, Bonecrusher and Myocard all played significant roles in the life of a giddy teenager. In the UK it is undoubtedly Frankel who was quite simply like no horse I have ever seen before. Add in the Henry Cecil and Khaild Abdullah storylines and you had a horse who evoked excitement and emotion at the same time as well as astonishment. That he's proving such a remarkable stallion now only adds to the story.

TDN: Who will be champion first-season sire in 2023?
I guess it's stating the obvious that a large crop of foals and precocity are the key elements here and stallions who fit the bill next season include Advertise, Blue Point, Calyx, Inns of Court, Soldier's Call, Ten Sovereigns and of course Too Darn Hot. One of them I reckon!

TDN: Greatest race in the world?
Whilst the Derby, Arc, Melbourne Cup and Grand National all have claims to that crown, I always thought the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket was the race that the world was most interested in, especially form a breeding/stallion point of view.

TDN: If you could be someone else in the industry for a day who would it be, and why?
Ryan Moore. I've never ridden, so being on board a top-class racehorse in a race would be a great thrill I'd imagine.

TDN: Emerging talent in the industry (human)?
Patrick Owens has done a remarkably good job with very few horses in the short time he has been training.

TDN: Horse TDN should have made a Rising Star, and didn't?
Karl Burke's Liberty Lane who won very easily on debut at Nottingham and who has some attractive entries next year.

TDN: Under-the-radar stallion?
Not sure if he is under the radar but I think there are any number of stallions who don't get the acclaim they deserve given the complexities of fashion and the sale ring, but if I was breeding for myself I think Teofilo is value at €30,000 given he has had 98 stakes winners from 12 crops of racing age, including 18 Group 1 winners.

TDN: Friday night treat?
Thai Street Cafe in Newmarket.

TDN: Guilty pleasure outside racing?
I enjoy getting to a festival or two or two during the British summer and the odd gig here and there.

TDN: Race I wish I had been there for…
Better Loosen Up, 1990 Japan Cup.

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Steve Cauthen: ‘I Was Always in Awe of Lester’s Talent’

Steve Cauthen, the American jockey who enjoyed huge success when riding in the UK-including Derby victories aboard Slip Anchor and Reference Point–remembered the greatest of them all, Lester Piggott, who died on Sunday, aged 86. 

Recalling what started out as a frosty relationship between the pair, Cauthen, who will form part of ITV Racing's presentation team at this year's Derby meeting, paid a glowing tribute to his great friend and rival. 

Cauthen said, “As time went on, obviously we became competitors, as I started to get chances on better horses and got to compete in the big races at Ascot or wherever. At first we learned to respect each other and then we became friends.

“I think he appreciated me and I appreciated him. I was always in awe of his talent. As many people have said, you never would tell anyone to try to copy him, because his style was just so unique – nobody could do it the way he could do it.”

He added, “At the same time, the way he did it was brilliant in his own way. He was a great judge of horses. You talk about balance and he really did have it.”

Between 1955 and 1984, Piggott rode more than 100 winners a season in Britain on 25 occasions. He won his ninth and final Derby on Teenoso in 1983, yet Cauthen was struck by the way he routinely connived to get aboard the right horse, no matter who he upset.

“More than any of it, he had that determination and desire to win,” said Cauthen. “He loved to win. He figured a way to get on the right horses and once he did, it was easy for him.

“I've heard of the many times that he got on rides at other jockeys' expense, but I was fortunate that it didn't happen to me. On that side, Lester was ruthless. On the other side, I've heard a lot about how he did a lot of things for people. He was very kind to people and did a lot of compassionate things that he didn't want anyone to know about.”

Piggott was tall for a jockey at 5ft 8ins and struggled with his weight, surviving on cigars, coffee and the occasional piece of chocolate. Cauthen, who was signed by Henry Cecil to take over from Piggott, also battled the scales towards the latter part of his career.

After more than a decade in England, he retired from race-riding at the age of 32, having amassed 10 British Classics and three jockeys' championships.

Both men were stylists who could get every ounce of talent from their charges. Yet only Piggott would go to any length in a bid to snaffle the next winner.

“He was just a great competitor and he wanted to get on every horse to win every race he rode in,” Cauthen said.

“Lester was so unique. Everyone wanted to be like him, but nobody could do it. I can't imagine even trying to ride as short as he did, especially being as tall as he was. We were both unique in our own way and hopefully it made British racing better in some form.”

Despite the sombre start to the week, Cauthen is looking forward to arriving back in Britain, having been invited to be part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

“It will be great to come over for the Oaks and Derby,” he said. “I am also an advisor or racing manager for a couple of farms over here-Three Chimneys and Dixiana. I enjoy being involved.”

Cauthen added, “For a while there I wasn't doing much and while I was doing my own thing, it is fun talking to the others guys about all that is going on and making plans for horses. I was kind of missing that part. I'm looking forward to coming over for the Queen with her Jubilee. I'm basing my trip around that and obviously I'd love to stay for Royal Ascot.”

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Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: From Mishriff To Enable, Every Day Is The ‘Olympics’ For Traveling Tony Proctor

When UK native Antony Proctor checked the odds on Mishriff just before the start of the $20 million Saudi Cup last Saturday, he was surprised the French Classic winner wasn't getting much respect. As trainer John Gosden's head traveling lad, Proctor knew the 4-year-old colt was up to the challenge of facing high-profile American runners Charlatan and Knicks Go.

“The boss wouldn't send him out there just to fill the gate,” Proctor said. 

Mishriff wound up defeating Charlatan by a length, paying $41.60 on a $2 wager in the American pools. Proctor was thrilled, meeting his charge on the track in Saudi Arabia to give 21-year-old jockey David Egan a high five before leading Mishriff into the winner's circle.

“It was pretty amazing,” said the 50-year-old industry veteran. “You know, people back home say to me sometimes, 'Don't you get tired of winning all the time?', and I have to say, I don't. It's not an easy life, and it's not the best-paid job in the world, but if you're in love with it, and I am, then it's one of the most rewarding jobs in the world.”

While Mishriff's Saudi Cup win was a great one for the entire Gosden team, it doesn't come close to Proctor's most memorable moment in racing. That honor lies with champion Enable.

“There's never been a horse to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up like she did,” Proctor said. “I'll always remember walking her over for the Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs, leading her around that walking ring. The American public were just so pleased to see her, and everyone was rooting for her. They'd see her and say, 'Oh, look, the Queen.'

“It was quite emotional; it was just unreal.”

Antony Proctor, left, gives Enable a pat after her 2018 victory in the Breeders' Cup Turf

The only horse to win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the Breeders' Cup Turf in the same season (2018), Enable won 15 of her 19 career starts, 11 of which were Group/Grade 1 races. She won the Arc twice, in 2017 and 2018, finished second in the premier race in 2019, and won a record three editions of the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Her race record isn't the only reason Enable was unique, Proctor explained. The mare also had a special presence about her, an almost human-like intelligence, that no other horse has ever come close to.

“It was a bit of a family thing, because my partner, Hannah, was the head girl to Enable when she was in training,” he said. “It's quite funny, because she's quite quirky in the box, and it's only Imran (Shahwani, her traveling exercise rider) and Hannah that could catch her at home. But I'd come down and yell her name, and she'd stick her head out and start whinnying. 

“That's why I think she's the best, and she'll always be my favorite. It's just the character, her whole persona. You'd walk around with her, and she knows she's good, but she also had a little bit of insecurity to her. She'd look to see where you are, then she'd see me, and it's like she'd say, 'I'm okay and I'll carry on.'

“I saw it because I was beside her, and she'd look for me. I got the best of her; I was there when she won her biggest races, every one of them. I have this relationship with her that will never be topped.”

Head traveling lad Tony Proctor pats Enable on the neck during morning training at Churchill Downs in 2018

There are a couple good reasons that even the best horses look to Proctor for security; first, he's always there beside them, and second, his quiet temperament and steady touch are a calming presence in unfamiliar surroundings.

His employers also place a lot of faith in Proctor, especially Gosden, not just because he's good with the horses, but because he is meticulous in his care of them and is also good at dealing with people, from owners to shipping managers.

“I think the biggest compliment I've had from the boss was that when I came to Churchill with Enable, I had her and Roaring Lion, and he sent me on my own,” Proctor said. “So to go over there with two horses of that ability, be over there for best part of a week before the boss turns up, obviously there's a good deal of trust there. He knows the way I work and he's happy with it.”

Tony Proctor with John Gosden trainee Global Giant in Saudi Arabia in February, 2021

Proctor has been all around the world caring for some of the top racehorses in the game. His resume includes exercising Dubai World Cup winners Dubai Millennium and Street Cry for Godolphin, three years under Henry Cecil, another three under Michael Stoute, and he is now in his ninth year with Gosden, for whom he has worked with horses like Golden Horn, Kingman, and Stradivarius, along with those already mentioned.

Perhaps Proctor was destined to work with racehorses, since his own father was a jockey and long-time employee of four-time champion trainer Major Dick Hern.

Father and son, Brian and Antony Proctor

Brian Proctor taught himself to ride and enjoyed some success as a jockey, but his real talent was as an exercise rider. Among his top charges were Brigadier Gerard, rated as the best racehorse trained in Britain in the 20th century, as well as stars like champion Bustino and Dayjur.

His father was his hero and his mentor, Proctor said. Though his father passed in 2017, he still remembers hearing stories about the journey to America for the Breeders' Cup Sprint with Dayjur in 1990. The horse famously jumped a dark shadow over the track in the stretch and lost by a neck, but had he not jumped the shadow, Proctor said, Dayjur likely would have won the race.

“Dad said one of the clock watchers was kind of winding him up, because we were English, and English horses can't compete with American sprinters on the dirt,” Proctor remembered. “After Dayjur worked later that morning, the clocker said he'd never change that clock again, saying, 'I've never seen anything so fast.'”

Dayjur leaps over a shadow just yards from victory in the 1990 Breeders' Cup Sprint

Proctor's father didn't pressure him into the racing business, but by the time he was 13 years old, the young Proctor was riding out on weekends and school holidays. From there, it was a natural progression to become an apprentice jockey.

He was one of the rare few in England who could ride both on the flat and over jumps, and wound up winning just over 200 races in his career, including at Cheltenham, Aintree, and even Royal Ascot.

“I don't think there's any place that comes close to riding at the Cheltenham Festival,” said Proctor. “As far as I was concerned Cheltenham was the place to be. I was in love with jump racing; there's no better feeling than coming up to a fence and the horse coming up to you. It's like you're flying.”

In 1997, Proctor got a call from Godolphin inviting him to come down to Dubai.

“I was riding bad horses at the time which isn't a great feeling, wondering if you're going to make it all the way around, not where you're going to finish,” he said. “I got to ride Dubai Millennium for them there, and obviously he was very good, I'd never felt anything like him before.”

After five years in the sunshine, Proctor was ready to head home to the UK. He rode races for a couple more years, then took a job as the third traveling lad to 10-time champion trainer Sir Henry Cecil.

“He was just a perfect gentleman, and we got on like a house on fire,” Proctor said. “I can't describe how good it was working for him, really.”

Unfortunately there were no opportunities to advance his career in Cecil's yard, as the two traveling lads ahead of him planned to stick by the trainer until his retirement, so after three years, Proctor decided to move on.

“I promise you now it was the hardest decision I've ever made,” said Proctor, his voice catching with emotion. “I was nearly in tears telling him I was leaving, but I'd been head-hunted by Sir Michael Stoute to be his second traveler. I won't tell you a lie, I think it was the worst decision I ever made.

“I learned a lot, though, in the three years with him. I'm a great believer in fate, so when the job at Gosden's came up, I took it, and then got to be first traveler within a year.”

One of the first really good horses Proctor remembers riding for Gosden was Kingman, before the colt made his first start.

“The assistant met me at the end of the gallops, and asked what I thought of him,” Proctor remembered. “I told him, 'I've waited 13 years to ride a horse that quickens like this. The last horse I sat on that quickened like this was Dubai Millenium.' 

“The assistant said, 'That's a pretty brave statement.' But you look at what he did on the track, and I guess it wasn't that brave, after all.”

Kingman won four Group 1 races as a 3-year-old and was voted the 2014 Cartier Horse of the Year.

“When you look back and think of the horses I've traveled now, from the first year with Golden Horn, then I end up with Enable, Stradivarius, Roaring Lion, and now Mishriff, you sort of think to yourself, I mean, you've almost got to pinch yourself sometimes!”

Trainer John Gosden, right, and head traveling lad Antony Proctor, left, with champion Enable following her 2018 Breeders' Cup Turf victory at Churchill Downs

Proctor isn't just in charge of traveling with the horses. He rides out nearly every morning at home, then gets the racing gear ready, loads the horses, drives to the races, finds lads to get them ready, saddles them, and then drives them back home again.

The most fun part of his job is the trips overseas. Proctor makes annual trips to the Breeders' Cup, the Arc meet in France, the Saudi Cup, and sometimes Dubai, among other places.

“Just being around good horses, it's unreal,” Proctor said. “When you're working for a trainer like the boss, I'm not sure respected is the right word, but you know you're going there competing, you're not just making up numbers. It's like for an athlete going to the Olympics, you're always at the top of your game, and I think that's something we all strive for, if we're honest.”

When he isn't traveling, Proctor spends his afternoons watching his 20-year-old daughter and two younger sons enjoy their own horses at home. His 6-year-old, Thomas, is an especially gifted rider. 

“I know one thing, I couldn't ride like him when I was six,” Proctor said. “It's frightening how good he is. My father was very, very good, he had the best hands I'd ever seen, and I think Thomas has his traits. He's so soft with his hands, he doesn't move. He's a very rare talent.”

Still, Proctor won't push any of his children toward the racing lifestyle, just as his father never pushed him. 

“You need to be in love with it,” Proctor said. “I've been very lucky in my progression, always been with good trainers, but even though I've had good jobs, I have to be happy, myself, in what I do to go to work every day. 

“Obviously, I have no intention of leaving at the moment!”

Antony Proctor and his son, Thomas, out for a ride

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