Kranji Falls Silent As Singapore Racing Says Goodbye 

A longshot winner and a long goodbye for Kranji as a surreal race day ends 182 years of racing in Singapore.

Kranji Falls Silent As Singapore Racing Says Goodbye 

A longshot winner and a long goodbye for Kranji as a surreal race day ends 182 years of racing in Singapore.

LONGSHOT WINNERS in feature races have a way of plunging crowds into stunned silence but rarely is the silence permanent. 

The G1 Grand Singapore Gold Cup was the last time the normally boisterous Singapore racing crowd had to pay tribute to the winner of a live horse race: unfortunately 32-1 Smart Star ensured there weren’t many winning punters with something to cheer about. 

After 182 years of racing in Singapore and 100 years since the first Gold Cup, the final race was at least one of its most memorable, even if there was more noise from the 10,000 fans on course as the field went past the post for the first time as there was when the upset winner crossed the line. 

The two top picks in betting – Dan Meagher-trained stablemates Lim’s Saltoro and Lim’s Kosciusko – would have been more popular winners. 

What the crowd lacked in enthusiasm was made up for by visiting South African jockey Muzi Yeni, who stood high in the irons, punched the air, crossed his chest and screamed with joy after Smart Star made a late charge to nab Lim’s Saltoro on the line.  

Singapore Gold Cup Smart Star
SMART STAR, MUZI YENI / Singapore Gold Cup // Kranji /// 2024 //// Photo by Jensen Chua

For trainer David Kok, who will return to his homeland of Malaysia to train after 16 years at Kranji, it was a dream come true. 

Kok was so confident in his horse’s chances with 50 kilograms on his back that the trainer cast a worldwide search for a lightweight jockey that eventually landed on the 37-year-old Yeni, a winner of more than 2,000 races in South Africa and current leader in the South African jockeys’ premiership. 

“It was my dream to win a Singapore Gold Cup one day and I got it,” Kok told local racing writer Mike Lee, who played an instrumental role in booking the history-making rider. 

“I thank my friend Michael Lee, who suggested to me to bring Muzi Yeni. I also want to thank all my staff because they are very hardworking.”

Yeni provided a patient ride in a race in which tearaway leader Pacific Vampire drew plenty of mid-race response from the crowd. 

“He was a little exposed when three deep but I was able to hold him in a good position. The pace suited him to the ground,” Yeni said of the winner. 

“It was nothing I couldn’t handle. Mr Kok and the owners freighted me over and trusted me, I just had to do my job the best I could.

“He responded well when I bounced him up in the straight. He wandered in the last 150m, but he was always in control.

“I’m proud to have won the last Gold Cup at the last day of racing in Singapore.” 


Every race on the card was celebrated like a Group 1, helped by a significant prize money boost for each race. The stake money for the first nine races on the 10-race card was nearly doubled and the Gold Cup raised to SGD$1.38 million from SGD$970,000.  

When New Zealand trainer Donna Logan won the Singapore Turf Club Trophy earlier in the day with Te Akau Ben in the iconic orange and blue silks of Te Akau Racing she paid an emotional tribute to racing at Kranji, where she has been based for the last seven years. 

“It’s a very emotional day and I couldn’t be more honoured, to me it’s like winning a Group 1,” she said. “It’s a really historic day and to actually have a winner on the last single day of Singapore’s racing, in the Te Akau colours, that means so much to Te Akau … thank you, Singapore.” 

Australia-bound Meagher may have narrowly missed out in the feature race with the ‘Lims’ but he won four on the undercard, including with impressive young sprinter Lim’s Shevano, who has won three from four starts and looks to have an impressive future when Meagher relocates to Pakenham later this year. 

The crowd was bizarrely limited to 10,000 by Singapore Turf Club officials, robbing many of experiencing racing in Lion City for the very last time, but this is typical of the mismanagement by heartless officials that have run this racing jurisdiction into the ground. 

Singapore horse racing fans
FINAL DAY OF RACING IN SINGAPORE / Kranji Racecourse // 2024 /// Photo by Jensen Chua
Singapore horse racing fans
FINAL DAY OF RACING IN SINGAPORE / Kranji Racecourse // 2024 /// Photo by Jensen Chua

Racetrack crowds aren’t ones to hang around but after the last race in Singapore there was no rush to the gates and many regulars took their time. 

Some of the unsung heroes of racing – race day staff, groundskeepers and stablehands – also took their time, posing for group photos. The groundskeepers gathered in the parade ring and hoisted their arms in a uniform cheer which echoed around the now near deserted racecourse. 

When Kranji was opened in 1999 after a build that cost SGD$500m Singapore dollars, it was the glittering jewel of Asian racing. It remains a world class facility. 

But every weekend from now until it is razed, there won’t be a more desolate and quiet place in Singapore than an empty Kranji Racecourse ∎

Michael Cox is Editor of Idol Horse. A sports journalist with 19 years experience, Michael has a family background in harness racing in the Newcastle and Hunter Valley region of Australia. Best known for writing on Hong Kong racing, Michael’s previous publications include South China Morning Post, The Age, Sun Herald, Australian Associated Press, Asian Racing Report and Illawarra Mercury.

View all articles by Michael Cox.

Don’t miss out on all the action.

Subscribe to the idol horse newsletter