Leck's son rides half the card in KL

Charles Leck's bulging trophy cabinet has given the former three-time Singapore champion trainer many career highlights, but Sunday's Kuala Lumpur meeting probably ranked as one of his proudest moments.

There was no silverware up for grabs at Sungei Besi that day, and Leck's four-timer is so common it is hardly headline material.

However, the 60-year-old was beaming as a proud father, as he stood at the winner's circle after the last race of the 12-race programme.

Perched atop former Kranji galloper Dragon Ryker and punching the air in delight, his 23-year-old son Clyde was being led back in triumph - for the sixth time that day.

Some jockeys may take years before netting such a bumper haul, let alone ride a first winner. But Leck has ridden half the card when he was at only his sophomore year.

It felt like deja vu. On Tunku Gold Cup Day on April 17, he rode five winners at the same track.

Leck Snr's personal best is a six-timer, too, achieved at Kuala Lumpur on March 10, 2019. But to the Singaporean trainer, this was not quite a "like father like son" moment - this was all about Clyde.

"I'm very proud of Clyde, especially for what he has achieved in such a short time," he said.

"This six-timer shows how competitive he is against senior riders.

"It's an immense satisfaction. I hope the legacy will go on.

"Today, he's lying third on 29 winners on the jockeys' premiership, after only 18 months and in 200 rides. Three winners more, and his claim will drop to 2kg.

"I saw the ability from the start. He sits well on a horse, he's not a very aggressive rider, he uses more hands and heels, but horses seem to travel for him.

"He is sharp in jumping off, though. He will drive up the horse and is always riding on the pace, which suits my training style."

A winner of close to 1,100 races as a trainer, including his time in Macau, Leck, who rides his own horses in work, has groomed past champion apprentices like Alan Ng, Mark Ewe and Troy See.

The pupil may be his own "colt" this time, but they all come under the same Leck polish.

"We ride trackwork together. That's when he can pick up exactly what I want to teach him, especially when we gallop," said Leck.

"It all boils down to safety. It's the No. 1 concern.

"I have to put him on sensible horses. He's still very new and too young to handle difficult horses."

A horse lover from the time he hung around his father's Kranji stables as a kid, Leck Jr is not letting the red-letter day get to his head.

For sure, the six winners - Mental, Naughty Kid, Obsidian (for his father), Good Fight, Awesome Storm, and Dragon Ryker (for Simon Dunderdale) - make for great Instagrammable shots.

But he knows the road ahead is still long, even if racing royalty and luck in the genes had his career path all set.

He dropped out of his first year of financial business informatics at Temasek Polytechnic to ride work for his father with brothers Cleon and Cliff. But he was the only one light enough to become a jockey.

"I lead the Malaysian apprentice jockeys' log. One of my goals is, of course, to become champion. But it doesn't mean I'm working towards that. I just want to get more rides, learn and improve," said Clyde.

"I would like to dedicate those six winners to my dad, as he's helped me tremendously, and also family, friends, jockeys who have guided me, and my master (former jockey) LL (Lee Leong) Tai.

"I would love to ride in Singapore one day, but not at the moment. I intend to gain more experience in Australia for one year or two."

The Victoria-trained Leck Snr can surely pull a few strings, but junior still has to earn it.

"Moving forward, in the next two months, he still needs to show improvement that will tell me he is ready to go to Australia," he said.

"If not, I'll probably delay that. The aim is to become a competitive rider anywhere in the world, be it Macau, Mauritius or Australia.

"One day, he'll go back to Singapore and ride there, and if he improves further, my dream is to see him ride in Hong Kong."