Champion Singapore jockey Nunes to make hit-and-run trip to South Australia
Brazilian to ride for Hickmott at Murray Bridge ahead of possible permanent move
Accomplished international jockey Manoel Nunes, a multiple champion rider in Singapore and Macau, will test the waters in South Australia this weekend before possibly relocating to Adelaide on a full-time basis.
Nunes, who is currently leading the Kranji jockeys’ premiership with 46 wins with the sport in its final throes in Singapore, is weighing up his options in the saddle beyond October 5, the last race meeting to be staged in the Lion City.
Riding Ghalib (I Am Invincible) into third in the Lion City Cup (SPG Gr 1, 1200m) behind Singapore superstar Lim’s Kosciuszko (Kermadec) on Sunday, Nunes has a one-win lead over nearest rival and fellow Brazilian Bruno Queiroz after scoring on Flying Fighter (Showtime) earlier on the card.
The 47-year-old natural lightweight Nunes has also ridden with success in Hong Kong, Argentina, Mauritius, Dubai, South Korea and, of course, his home country of Brazil.
The five-time champion Singapore jockey, who has also won six Macau titles, has taken up an invitation from South Australia premiership-winning trainer Michael Hickmott to ride at Murray Bridge on August 3 as a potential precursor to permanently joining the state’s riding ranks.
“I think at the moment [Australia] is one of the best places to be, to ride, because they have a lot of races every day, the prize-money is good,” Nunes told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“I know it’s very competitive, there’s a lot of jockeys, but [with that] support, why not try?
“Australia’s always been a place I’ve looked forward to coming to and riding and now is my opportunity to get in there.”
Nunes, who is expected to have up to six rides for Hickmott on the nine-race card at Murray Bridge on Saturday, is capable of riding at 51 kilograms if required.
A mutual contact of Hickmott and Nunes reached out to the jockey about two months ago about the prospect of riding in South Australia, leading to this coming Saturday’s engagements.
“Michael rang me and asked me to come over and ride. He asked if I’ve decided to go somewhere [after Singapore] and I said, ‘look, I have a few options, but I haven’t decided where I am going’,” Nunes revealed of the initial invitation from Hickmott, who finished fourth in the just completed South Australian metropolitan trainers’ premiership with 20 winners with prize-money earnings topping $1.1 million in 2023-24.
He has engaged jockeys’ agent Damien Wilton to manage his South Australian rides.
Nunes sought Wilton’s assessment of South Australian racing prior to linking with Hickmott and the jockeys’ agent is confident that Nunes will make an impact in South Australia if he commits longer-term.
“You don’t know with the different style of racing in Australia as opposed to Singapore, but with someone with his credentials there’s no doubt he’ll measure up,” Wilton told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“We have a lot of apprentices in South Australia and since Barend’s [Vorster] had his accident, there’s probably been a place for a lightweight rider with the credentials that Nunes has got.
“There’s been significant interest already from trainers outside of Michael to use him when he does hopefully come back [to ride] permanently.”
Wilton, who also manages this season’s champion South Australian jockey Jake Toeroek, also previously looked after Vorster when he relocated from Singapore to Adelaide until the expatriate South African rider’s probable career-ending injury suffered in early 2023.
A two-time Singapore Derby-winning jockey, who formed a formidable partnership with then champion Singapore trainer Mark Walker, Nunes was stranded in his native Brazil early on during the pandemic, having returned to the country for a holiday when the Covid outbreak caused chaos around the world.
He had intended to ride at Woodbine in Canada, but the restrictions on travel meant he rode with distinction in Brazil until receiving an offer to return to Singapore in August 2021, nearly four years after he’d last left Kranji to ride in Seoul, South Korea.
Nunes won the jockeys’ premiership in 2022 and again in 2023 and he is on track to retain his title for a third time in succession. During a glittering riding career, which started in the mid-1990s, Nunes has ridden almost 2,200 winners, including 26 at Group 1 level.
Nunes said he is as fit as ever and mentally “still feeling great” as he prepares to wind down his career in Singapore ahead of embarking on another international journey. “Singapore’s been good to me and I want to see things out until the end.”