Nothing will ever dilute the drama of the Derby 

How do you describe a horse race which has been around for, well, donkey’s years – yet still manages to hold the attention and affection of the racing fraternity?

For want of a better word, I would say “thrilling”.

Sorry, but it is as much as I can come up with when describing the Singapore Derby.

But hey, “thrilling” does just about sum up all there is in the Derby – be it the Epsom event. Or the one at Kentucky which is part of the American Triple Crown. Or, for that matter, the Santa Anita race.

Not forgetting, of course, our very own Singapore Derby.

Granted, our race is not as well known or steeped in the traditions of the Epsom and Kentucky versions. But, in our tight racing community, it is truly a big deal, second only to the Singapore Gold Cup.

The Derby has been around – with breaks – since 1880. But it really got galloping in 1959.

Sadly though, if things do not change drastically over the next few months and racing as we know it has to fold in October 2024, this Sunday’s Singapore Derby will surely tug at the heartstrings.

How not to? It will be the penultimate race of its kind and the one any horse owner, trainer or jockey would want to win.

If there is a happier side to all of this? Well, I reckon we can proudly say that few clubs in the world could have nurtured a race so well and for so long.

Despite all the changes in the racing world – cosmetic and commercial – the Singapore Derby is as big today as it was when Jumbo Jet stole the show in 1972.

Oh, what a day that was. As always, the racing establishment asserted itself mainly in the paddock and the walking ring where the atmosphere exuded entrenched money, expensively tailored suits and dresses, ties and even hats.

Oh yes, the old boy network was on full display.

Then out came the Derby horses, each looking as magnificent as the next. And the jockeys in their eye-popping silks and white breeches.

Minutes later, the action got underway. Carrying the steadier of 63kg, Jumbo Jet roared home under a super ride by Johnny Wilson to win the race which was then run over the gruelling 2,400m.

That day, trainer Ivan Allan saddled the first of what was to be his nine Derby winners.

Fast forward to 1994 and Emirates, the UAE’s airline became the title sponsor of the race. It pumped in $150,000 to push the Derby purse to $400,000.

But money alone did not make the race – the horses did. Come Sunday, they will again headline the show.

Eleven of Singapore’s top four-year-olds will face the starter.

They will look in great order. Their coats will be all sleek and shiny.

Their muscles will be gleaming under the evening light.

It will be beautiful. But this is just the public face. What most of us will not see is the tremendous amount of work that goes into the grooming of a Derby runner.

The preparation would have begun nine months to a year earlier.

By then, the warm-up races would have been done and dusted, the opposition scrutinised.

In the run-up, there would have been more back-breaking work.

Like the horse’s blood count. It would have been meticulously monitored.

And the feed. It would have had to be measured.

What the racegoer does not see are the sleepless nights a trainer or horse owner might be subjected to when their Derby hope suddenly becomes lethargic.

Or the nightmares they suffer when their pride and joy returns lame after an early morning gallop.

Training and owning and winning a Derby is the pinnacle of achievement of every racing buff.

But getting your horse to the parade ring is a grind and unpredictability is the Derby devil.

A bad start. A slight misjudgment of pace or a change in the weather could wreck all the planning and months of hard work.

So, when you are at the track on Sunday, look at the bigger picture. Appreciate the work.

At 5.05pm – the “start time” – the loading process will begin.

The gates will pulsate and the starter will then send them off. Listen for that magical rhythm to the thud, thud, thud of hooves on turf.

It will take around 108 seconds for them to complete the journey and soon it will be over.

The horses who drew the cheers from the grandstand will make their way back to be unsaddled.

They will be dripping with sweat and panting like gladiators returning from a Roman circus.

Rise from your seats and, whether or not you have a winning ticket residing in your shirt pocket, applaud those equine marvels.

Forget the fact that we will only get to see just one more Singapore Derby – the 2024 edition – before racing is gone for good.

Instead, reflect on the past and relive the good memories of derbies gone by.

You might find yourself wanting to shed a tear. Do not be too embarrassed. You will not be alone.