Mazuki siblings take the spotlight

Apprentice jockeys and siblings Zulhilmi Mazuki and Akmazani Mazuki won a race each at the eight-race meeting at Sungai Besi on Dec 20, but their victories grabbed the limelight for slightly different reasons.

The newly licensed Zulhilmi, who is the younger of the two, caught the attention of racegoers when he hit it right off the bat with a smart victory aboard Forest Gold at his first ride in Race 2.

It might have been only a mediocre Class 5B race (1,300m) worth RM32,000 (S$10,100), but from the way the 23-year-old jockey bravely drove home his master Frank Maynard’s five-year-old galloper from the inside rails, it showed racing runs in his blood.

Born in Kelantan, Zulhilmi grew up around horses and began riding at the age of eight.

His father is an avid rider and horse owner, and his three brothers, including Akmazani – who has tasted success both in Singapore and Malaysia – works in the racing industry.

Six years after joining Maynard’s yard, Zulhilmi was granted his apprentice jockey’s licence recently and made his debut in Kuala Lumpur this weekend with three rides – two rides on Dec 20 and one ride on Dec 21 – all for his master.

Forest Gold began well from gate 6, but was snagged back to second last, just ahead of Sahm (Ikram Jamaludin), in the field of nine.

The Joseph Leck-trained Pacific Empire (Andre da Silva) led the field into the straight, with Tangesh (Wong Kam Chong) close in second on his outside.

With 500m to go, Zulhilmi made his move on Forest Gold and soon had him within striking distance.

While Pacific Empire struggled to close the gap to his rivals at the 250m, Forest Gold ($32) quickly made ground on the rails before eventually striding past the leader at the 50m with a neck to spare.

Trained by Jason Ong, The Wild Chief (Shafiq Rizuan) finished another 1½ lengths away in third.

Zulhilmi was grateful after winning on his debut.

“Thanks to my boss (Maynard) and the owner (Grasshopper Stable), I was able to ride this horse,” said Zulhilmi to Turfonline. “First ride, first win. I am very happy.

“I galloped the horse and he worked well, so I was quite confident of a win.”

The 2006 Malaysian champion trainer, who pulled off a double courtesy of Star Express ($23) in the opening Class 5B contest over 1,300m, had nothing but praises for his four-kilo claiming apprentice.

“This boy (Zulhilmi) has been with me for a long time. He came to me when he was very young. He’s like a son to me,” said Maynard.

“He’s very loyal. He followed me when I moved to Penang (briefly) and came back to Kuala Lumpur with me when I moved back. I am proud of him.

“He rode like a senior rider today. He is very strong and has a bright future. Definitely one to watch.”

A son of Star Witness, Forest Gold has now won three from 35 starts. The former Kranji galloper won once over 1,400m in February 2024 when under the care of James Peters, and claimed an easy victory in a Class 5B contest (1,600m) in Ipoh on Aug 10.

Five races later, Zulhilmi steered Tau Keh Soh to an encouraging third behind all-the-way winner Stop The Water ($16) in the highlight event of the day, the RM53,000 Class 3 race (1,020m).

The Richard Lines-trained five-year-old was ridden by Akmazani, whose last win came on board Tau Keh Soh in a Class 4B event (1,200m) on Nov 30.

The three-kilo claiming rider finished second atop Stop The Water in another Class 3 race (1,200m) on Nov 22, and was confident the drop back in trip would work in his favour.

“I thought he (Stop The Water) was going to win the first time I rode him (on Nov 22). That was over 1,200m,” he said.

“Over the shorter trip today, I knew he was going to be hard to beat. He travelled well all the way. The wet track was also much to his liking.”

A son of Headwater, Stop The Water has taken his record to seven wins from 28 starts.

sharonzhang@sph.com.sg