By Alan Carasso
French-born Ryan Curatolo, who made a name for himself in the United States in the early part of this decade before becoming a top-five rider in Macau, visited Singapore's Kranji Racecourse for the first time Friday afternoon and walked away with two winners from four rides for trainer C. T. Kuah.
A well-beaten ninth aboard 16-1 Aeolus (NZ) (Alamosa {NZ}) in
his first mount, the 25-year-old made the most of the opportunity to ride 2-1 choice Golden Spark (Munnings) in a Class 5 going 1000 metres over the all-weather track, scoring by a length (video). He doubled his tally with a 1 1/4-length success from near the tail astride $22 (17-5) favourite Eden Garden (NZ) (Thorn Park {Aus}) in a grassy Class 5 (video) going seven furlongs and finished off his day with a fourth-place effort atop fellow 17-5 gamble Any Rumour (NZ) (Any Suggestion {Aus}).
“This is wonderful. Better than I thought it would be,” Curatolo told Singapore Turf Club's Michael Lee. “I'm very delighted with such an amazing first day in Singapore. One was great, but two is unreal. I'm very thankful to the Singapore Turf Club and my main sponsor CT Kuah for the support. I did think Golden Spark and Eden Garden were my two best chances and they didn't disappoint.”
A finalist for an Eclipse Award as apprentice jockey in 2011, Curatolo rode 183 winners, mostly on the competitive New York circuit, including three graded stakes. Since relocating to Macau, Curatolo has booted home 90 winners, including a victory in the Macau Gold Cup, a local Group 1, this past July.
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