Bayliss buckles down to business

Whoa! Hold your horses, Jake Bayliss. No need to be in such a hurry.

Then again, if you were plunging into a new adventure in a foreign land, perhaps, it is only expected that you too would be eager to get things going.

Yes, Bayliss is in a big hurry - and it would seem odd if he was not excited.

Just take a look at how things have been moving these last 10 days or so for Kranji's latest riding acquisition.

He had his last ride on Saturday, Feb 5. That was at a meeting on the Gold Coast in Australia.

Five days later, he got word that his employment pass had been approved.

Airline tickets were booked and last Friday he hopped onto a plane. Just like that and even before he could say "starters up", he was clearing Customs at Singapore's Changi Airport.

With no quarantine required - he had come on a VTL flight - it was off to his temporary place of residence, trainer Donna Logan's house.

He had come to know the trainer after riding and winning on one of her horses in Hastings, New Zealand.

Logan had also helped him get through the paperwork for getting a riding permit in Singapore.

On Saturday, he went for his medical check-up and was given the all-clear.

Sunday saw him glued to his TV screen watching the 12 races being run at the Kranji Racecourse.

By his own admission, he paid special attention to the track and the jockeys he would be coming up against in his one-year stint here.

He was impressed with all that he observed.

Monday (Valentine's Day) saw him scouting for rides for the weekend. No love lost. Girlfriend Hollee Bohr, who is here with him, had no problems there.

It was a fruitful day. He pinched six rides. They were Gold Star and Boomba from Tim Fitzsimmons, Foresto and Exdream from Logan, Desmond Koh's Wawasan in the opener and Green Star for Stephen Crutchley.

Tuesday was a full working day for the 27-year-old Queensland-born rider. He rode trackwork and had two rides in the four trials.

"I rode around seven horses, including two (Super Posh and Stunning Cat) at the trials. Besides Donna, I also rode work for Jerome Tan, Tim Fitzsimmons and James Peters.

"I can say the Polytrack is the biggest synthetic track I've ever ridden on, but I can't wait to get on the grass as well."

As for his rides on Saturday, for now, six is more than enough.

"I galloped Boomba on Tuesday morning and it was a really nice piece of work," said Bayliss, who has ridden more than 350 winners.

"Yes, six is a perfect number for a start as I don't want to push myself too much - especially since it's my first race day. Next week, hopefully, it'll be 10 rides!

"My fitness levels are good, though, as I had my last rides back home a couple of weeks ago. If I keep riding a lot of trackwork, and with the weather, I can get down to 53kg."

For now and after that hectic last couple of weeks, it certainly looks like all systems go for Bayliss and his Singapore adventure.

And yes. Logan has introduced him to chicken rice and he is hooked on the dish.

Looks like Bayliss has a full plate and will blend in all right.

We wish him the best of luck.