The Singapore Turf Club has granted a one-day visiting jockey’s licence to Australian-based jockeys Glyn Schofield and Damian Browne for the Queen Elizabeth II Cup meeting at Kranji this Sunday.

Schofield will ride Newlands for trainer Stephen Gray while Browne will ride Laughing Gravy for trainer Cliff Brown in the Group 1 race over 1800m.

Born in England, but raised in South Africa where he honed his craft, Schofield, 50, has been riding in Sydney, Australia in the last 10 years.

An internationally-renowned jockey who has plied his trade with success in South Africa, Australia, Hong Kong, England, France, Singapore and Mauritius, Schofield boasts more than 2,000 winners to his name, with several scored at Group 1 level.

In South Africa, he captured the likes of the Summer Cup, the South African Derby and South African Guineas, while in Hong Kong where he rode with success between 2001 and 2005, the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup with River Dancer and the Hong Kong Sprint with Natural Blitz figure on his roll of honour.

He then moved to Sydney in 2007 where he quickly established himself as one of the leading jockeys there, often riding for leading trainers Chris Waller and James Cummings. After landing his first Group 1 win on Road To Rock in the George Main Stakes in 2009, he went on to add more feathers to his cap, while associated with top horses like Hay List, Boban and Manawanui, among others.

 

Last year, he won one of Australia’s most prestigious races, the Group 1 Victoria Derby aboard Prized Icon. His most recent Group 1 winner was Le Romain in the Canterbury BMW Stakes.

But local racegoers will better remember Schofield for his win in the 2011 Singapore Airlines International Cup astride Gitano Hernando for fellow South African trainer Herman Brown. Schofield also rode in Singapore at the old Bukit Timah racecourse.

Currently 10th on the Sydney metropolitan jockey’s premiership, Schofield, whose son is Hong Kong-based Chad Schofield, goes to scale at 55kgs.

Born in New Zealand, Browne, 44 made his name in Australia where he is based in Brisbane. Since he began his riding career in 1990 back in New Zealand, Browne has racked up more than 1,400 winners to his name, including many at Group 1 level such as the South Australian Derby, Tatt’s Club Tiara, two Blue Diamond Stakes twice and four Group 1 wins aboard champion sprinter Buffering.

It is with the same Buffering that Browne captured his biggest international acclaim when they took out the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai in 2016.

Browne did ride once in Singapore when he was booked on a similar hit-and-run assignment by Brown as well. He was booked on Flight Ofthe Saker in the 2014 Group 1 Emirates Singapore Derby in which they, however, finished unplaced.

Browne currently lies in sixth place on the Brisbane metropolitan jockey’s premiership on 31 winners, and goes to scale at 55kgs.