Bernardo Pinheiro hits his 800th win milestone in KL

KUALA LUMPUR – Bernardo Pinheiro marked his 800th career-win milestone with a treble at Sungai Besi – the very track the Brazilian jockey first gained prominence in the Asia-Pacific – on May 17.

He returned for a stint in the Malaysian capital after a taking a break back home following the conclusion of the racing season in the Middle East.

The 30-year-old rider was back with a bang when he won on the Simon Dunderdale-trained Friend Of Honor in the opening Class 5A race (1,150m) at his first meeting on May 10.

A week later, Pinheiro recorded a treble with victories aboard Tommy Gun, Eastern Barracks and Swey City Flyer.

Astride the Ananthen Kuppan-trained Tommy Gun ($12), Pinheiro allowed the Flying Artie galloper to settle behind the front-running trio of Tipping Point (Liam Riordan), Dragon Cavallo (Jackson Low Kang Cheng) and Fa Fa Star (Khaw Choon Kit).

He then switched out from behind their heels to hit the front 100m out, winning by 2½ lengths in the Class 5A race (1,020m).

That success brought Pinheiro’s career tally to 799 wins, but he did not have to wait long to hit that magical 800, which came in the penultimate race of the day – the Class 4A race (1,400m) – on Eastern Barracks.

Trained by Joseph Leck, the Tivaci four-year-old was one of the first two to break, but Pinheiro elected not to go for the lead, and even dropped back to sixth at one stage.

At the top of the straight, Pinheiro was presented with a huge gap on the inside of the pacemaker Campionessa (Lim Shung Uai) and raced up to him at the 300m.

Campionessa fought back and held a narrow lead until the final few strides when Eastern Barracks ($13) eventually popped his head in front to score.

Pinheiro had pulled off a double but was not yet done for the day.

After working overtime in his previous ride, Pinheiro had a much easier time on Swey City Flyer ($16) in the final event.

The Dunderdale-trained Sweynesse galloper led most of the way in the Class 5A event (1,300m), except when briefly headed by Zero Five Six (Ikram Jamaludin) at one point.

Pinheiro, who has also ridden in Singapore previously, was over the moon with his achievement.

“I feel very glad and very blessed to hit this milestone after everything that I went through in my career,” he said.

“It was a long journey – not that long really – but a nice journey travelling round the world, gaining experience and getting support everywhere I go.

“I am happy to hit this mark in KL as I feel very welcomed here and have good support.

“The public here cheer for me with love and passion and truly enjoy my rides and horsemanship. It makes it special.

“There is not much else to say except to keep working hard, keep my feet on floor, be the person that I am and see how far I can go.”

Born in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, Pinheiro enrolled as an apprentice at a riding school in 2013 and completed the course in October that year.

He enjoyed a dream start to his career in the saddles, winning his very first ride the following month.

He was crowned champion apprentice jockey for the 2013 and 2014 seasons, and turned professional in 2015 after riding more than 180 winners.

Bernardo took up his first overseas stint when he rode in Dubai and Bahrain in 2017, and has returned to ride in the Middle East every year since.

Among his career highlights are the Group 1 Emirates Championship (2,200m) with Harrab in Abu Dhabi in March 2022 and the Grade 1 Grande Premio Margarida Polak Lara Taca de Prata (1,600m) with Macadamia in June 2021.

He also took out the Brazilian Triple Crown with filly Perfect Bullet, and that included the Group 1 Grande Premio Taca de Cristal (1,600m) in June 2017, as well as several black-type races.

Pinheiro first rode in Malaysia in July 2019 and was an immediate hit booting home 34 winners, including the 2019 Group 1 Selangor Gold Cup (1,600m) on the Shane Edwards-trained Truson.

He has gone on to reprise the feat with Pasir Pinji and Antipodean in 2023 and 2024.

The highlight event at the 11-race meeting went to the Johnny Lim Boon Thong-trained Banker’s Amazing ($23), who led a stable 1-2-3 when he outclassed his rivals in the Supreme C race (1,400m).

Ridden by Farhan Ghazali, the son of American Pharoah surged to the front soon after the jump and never looked back. He went to the line four lengths clear of stablemate Grand Avante (Harmeet Singh Gill).

Lim’s third runner Banker’s Pretty (Johari Kamaruddin) came in third.
SELANGOR TURF CLUB/TURFONLINE