SINGAPORE — When Mr Muhammad Noor Jamil Mohd Sarwi heard of the Singapore Turf Club's impending closure last Monday, all the apprentice jockey could think about was how to support his family.

“My first thought was what I want to work as after this and where I want to go, because I’ve got family and my wife is going to give birth,” the 26-year-old said.

He and other young jockeys told TODAY that they are now mulling over their future careers and livelihoods, following the announcement last Monday (June 5) that the Singapore Turf Club will close its doors by March 2027 for redevelopment.

Mr Jamil, who is expecting his first child this September, has worked at the club since he was 22.

He took up the job after National Service as he thought that the work would be unconventional.

Mr Jamil started off by taking care of horses first, before undergoing training to get his apprentice jockey licence last year. As an apprentice jockey, he takes home S$1,900 every month.

One of Mr Jamil’s greatest accomplishments so far was when he won the Kranji Stakes A race in January with the horse Sky Eye.

The 1,200m race had a prize money of S$100,000, of which a small commission went to Mr Jamil. Most of the prize money at races goes to a horse’s owner.

With seven wins under his belt so far, Mr Jamil's aim was to become the champion apprentice jockey, which is awarded to the rider with the greatest number of victories in a year.

But his dream has now been cut short with the imminent closure of the turf club.

“It feels unfair because I just got my licence and I just want to achieve what I want, but all of a sudden everything became like this,” he said.

He added that he will try to continue being an apprentice jockey, even though he has not figured out how to yet, because he “just likes horses”. However, it will be difficult to continue his career overseas with a wife and young child in tow, he said.

STILL ‘DIGESTING’ NEWS

Meanwhile, Singapore’s first female millennial apprentice jockey, Ms Jerlyn Seow, is holding out hope that the racing industry will continue in Singapore.

“I haven’t digested the news yet. I’m still hoping they will continue this historical, iconic racing industry in Singapore,” she said, adding that she has no “concrete plan” for her future yet.

Ms Seow, 30, started her journey to become a jockey in 2015 and attained her apprentice jockey licence in 2021.

She was inspired to become a jockey after watching a Hong Kong television drama series about the equine industry.

However, her road to becoming an apprentice jockey has been riddled with challenges.

In 2017, for instance, she fell off a horse in the heavy rain, breaking her ankle. Ms Seow had to go for surgery and was out of action for three months.

Nevertheless, she returned to racing and eventually won her first race as an apprentice in April 2021.

To date, she has won 34 races. To get to her goal of becoming a professional jockey, she will need to win 150 races.

However, she said that it will be hard to reach her goal before the Singapore Turf Club closes. This is because her opportunities to race will be reduced as the number of races will dwindle in the lead-up to the club’s closure.

Nevertheless, Ms Seow, who graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a Diploma in Product Design and Innovation, is positive about her future.

She said that she was young and could still consider other career options, unlike older staff who will lose their jobs.

“I just started so I can still learn more throughout my life,” she said.

Among the other options are to be a gamer or a vet assistant, or starting a business.

Ms Seow, who is married with no children, said she may also consider pursuing her career overseas in countries like New Zealand, although this would depend on her family commitments.

‘THERE GOES MY JOB’

For Mr Zyrul Nor Azman, a 35-year-old professional jockey, the news of the club’s closure has also left him scrambling to find ways to support his family.

“I was like: ‘There goes my job. There goes my hard work.’ I’m sad and disappointed it happened this way,” said Mr Zyrul, pointing to how jockeys and trainers were not consulted and informed prior to the announcement of the club’s closure.

Mr Zyrul dropped out of polytechnic at the age of 21 in 2009 to join the Singapore Turf Club. He did so as balancing his studies with his part-time work as a hotel kitchen cleaner at the time “took a toll” on him, he said.

On the other hand, working at the turf club allowed him to learn a new skill — horse riding — and get paid at the same time.

Like the others, Mr Zyrul started off doing “unwanted work” like washing the toilets at the club and clearing the horses’ droppings.

He was later sent by his trainer to New Zealand between 2016 and 2018 to improve his skills and chances of becoming a professional jockey.

A serious concussion during his three-year stint in New Zealand almost derailed his dreams, but he was not deterred, bouncing back after a three-month break.

“I’ve poured by life into this, and this is what I want to do. So it didn’t stop me (from returning),” he said.

But with the curtains closing on Singapore Turf Club, Mr Zyrul, who became a professional jockey in 2020, might be forced to close the chapter on his racing career.

While he expected the turf club to close given that it was losing its popularity among the youth, he did not expect it to be this soon.

“I thought it might be after I retire… I didn’t think it would be during my time working there,” he said.

He is now worrying about how to provide for his wife and two daughters aged three and one.

While he initially considered returning to New Zealand to pursue his career, Mr Zyrul said doing so would mean zero salary for the first few months. This is because he would have to first establish connections with trainers and horse owners so that they will let him race for them.

It would be tough to support his family without any income for a few months, he said. He declined to reveal how much he earns now, only that it is more than what an apprentice jockey earns.

At this point, Mr Zyrul is willing to try anything.

“I can still drive Grab at worst and it will still be a bit of income for me. I used to work as a kitchen cleaner, so I can do anything,” he said.