Last Saturday, my friend gave me a complimentary pass to the races at Kranji…. i was hosted to lunch & tea in the Committee Box at the turf club. — my first time there!
I’ve been to the old Bukit Timah turf club, but never to the new Kranji one.. heard dat it opened 8 years ago, but this is my first time there… very “swa-koo” of me, rite? haha..
Anyway, being the executive vip box, dress code was formal (long sleeves & tie for gents, formal for ladies).
The lunch buffet was exquisite - nothing really expensive like lobsters or abalone lah, but fairly good. - Beef rendang, peranakan style lemak vege curry, coconut rice, deep fried fish, chicken….etc. The dessert (”Or-nee”) was super yummy!!
And mid way thru the races, at 4.15pm, tea time was served — local fried cha kway, muar chee, and sweet cakes.. oishi des ne!
Where we were seated, large LCD screens were mounted overhead, at almost every angle and corner. These showed the dividends on the horses for the next race. During a race itself, the screens also beamed the action live from the tracks.
In the dining lounge
My host, Ms Mo Ching, also gave us a conducted tour of the premises. We were shown the weighing room where jockeys weighed themselves before and after a race, the owners’ lounge, the Hibiscus lounge, the Gold Card members’ room, and the parade ring..etc. It’s a pity she didn’t bring us to the paddocks and stables. I would have liked to have a “behind the scene” look at the preparation work.
The parade ring
We then went to the outdoor grandstand and sat among the spectators for a while,.. it was a lively mob actually… and when the field of horses neared the finishing line, we could hear the jockeys cracking their whips on the horses’ buttocks like there’s no tomorrow… as the leading horses strained their necks trying to pip one another to the fnishing post, while the rabid crowd cheered and shouted aloud the number of the horses they had backed..
Front horses surging across the finishing line
As the front two neck-to-neck horses scrambled to the finishing line, we could hear the crowd’s final last gasp shout and a concerted split-second stamping of the feet at the final moment when built-in cameras at the post clicked away for a nail-biting photo finish!
It was really exciting.
For the day, we were given a booklet with the race card and horses’ track record. What amazed me, though, was that our host, Ms Mo Ching, suggested that we could pick a horse based on our favourite number. For ladies, she recommended picking the jockey’s attire that one liked best. Now, everyone knows that you don’t choose horses like that. It’s financial suicide.
Anyway, of cos i didn’t take her advice. i picked my own horses after studying the track record in the booklet. There were 9 races that day, including the highlight, the Chairman’s Trophy Event. I had bet on 6 of the races that day – I won 5 of them, and lost 1.
If i had bet based on how colourful a jockey’s attire was, i would have gone home broke! haha…
Anyway, it was a great afternoon at the races, and i am grateful to Singapore Turf Club and my hosts, for their invitation. i’ll certainly like to go back again, cos it was so enjoyable! : )
