This week is a big one in Singaporean racing as the 2nd leg of the open Triple Crown, The Raffles Cup, is run on Sunday. The usual stars are lining up – Debt Collector, winner of the 1st leg, Well Done, the unlucky runner up, War Affair, Quechua – the list goes on. $700 000 is up for grabs and it will be an awesome days racing, writes Gareth Pepper.
War Affair – will go close
Personally it is a big week for me.
I turn 30 on Sunday and cannot believe how it has crept up on me!
It is a big week in general for me – It is my last week as a broadcaster at the Singapore Turf Club.
I have had the privilege of working on course for almost 2 years and I cannot thank the Management and Staff enough for the opportunity and the amazing experience it has been.
Singapore English Broadcast Team – myself, Craig Evans and Matt Jones – I will cherish the great moments
Now, if you are a regular reader of my column, you will probably ask why am I leaving, when I saw it as my dream job?
Well, the fact is that although it is an awesome job and an amazing opportunity, I felt that i needed to broaden my horizons.
My passion in horseracing is selecting & purchasing, managing and filming/photographing horses. All of those facets coupled into an equine management company is where I see more of a future for myself. So i have taken a leap and setup a company in Singapore to do all these things.
I had great fun and learnt a lot
I have had many sleepless nights and after much deliberation I decided I need to explore this option. I am lucky in the fact that I have made many wonderful friends and contacts here in Singapore and I will not be leaving anytime soon.
I do feel that I have far more to offer in my new role and I will seriously miss the presenting. I have grown into the best presenter I have ever been and will be forever grateful for the knowledge and skills I have acquired.
The return on investment, the facilities and the opportunities in Singapore are enormous.
There is so much potential here and I really want to explore it.
I need to take a chance and my head and heart are telling me to go for it.
My partner Petra has, and continues to be a pillar of strength and she has been behind me all the way.
I must thank the Sporting Post for allowing me to write this weekly ramble, and I will continue to do so for as long as they will have me.
I am and will always be proudly South African and I hope that one day the export of our world class product becomes less gruelling.
I plan to take an active role in finding ways and means to get more of our horses here competing in Singapore and potentially around the world.
Thank you to my friends and supporters who back me and continue to do so, it is greatly appreciated!
My time may have come to an end at the Turf Club, but things are most definitely only starting to gain momentum for me and I look forward to sharing my future endeavours with you all.
On that note, I will be attending the Hong Kong International Races in the second week of December.
I look forward to providing some in depth news and views for followers in SA and you can learn more by following me on twitter – my handle is @gazzadp The tag for those acquainted with twitter will be #HKIR.
Ed – we wish Gareth every success in his new venture
