It is with much regret that Lionel Lee , who is locally trained by Don Bachiger is meted out the 'death sentence' after a long and tedious journey to fulfil his dream as a race horse trainer. From past reports , I gather that Lionel was working for the Singapore Turf Club as a STIPE STEWARD & racing journalist ( a capable one too ) before resigning to pursue his passion . He was then indentured to Don Bachiger for a few years before getting his 'A' licence. For someone who did not start from young as an apprentice in Australia/NZ/UK/USA where these are some of the better known places for grooming trainers ,stable hands , vets and jockeys , his short tenure with Don earned him a licence , which is already quite an achievement.
To be a successful trainer , there are a combination of several factors . One needs to have honest ,supportive and rich owners to back you up with good horses as the very first ingredient . In this instance , this is often difficult as owners are extremely selective in choosing their trainers . They will almost go for the top trainers first , like in brand conscious consumers who will buy LV , Merc or Rolex . The local trainers are often left out unless they have already earned a reputation and having trained several champion horses. Moreover there are only a handful of local trainers , with my pair of hands I can easily name M.Yusof , David Kok & J.Ohara ( recently granted licences ) , Sam Chua , Desmond Koh and Dr.Yeoh ( M'sian ).
The SNTC is now flooded with foreign trainers from NZ, S.Africa & Australia , rumours have it that they often gang up amongst themselves to manipulate the results of races, punters here are at their mercy all the time. The CPIB and Police can only act when there is concrete evidence or catching them red handed but most of the time they are not apprehended . Racing will always have it's risks with all these foreign trainers who are here to make as much hay as possible . They are fully aware that their stay is short term and earning big bucks is their main priority even at the expense of the law.
Why is the SNTC using the excuse of terminating his stables to stop him from continuing his career? He is probably in his early 50s , having spent so much of his time in racing and building a career there, yet to be terminated in short notice without a genuinely valid reason. If his perfomance is not up to par , he should be given more time to improve unless he has committed a serious crime or run foul of the law. Afterall he is a true blue Singaporean , why is he not given a chance to hone his skills and build up his owners base? A successful trainer can only make good if he has numbers in his stable, racing is a numbers game . With more horses in his stable he will automatically have more winners - this needs no further explanation, SNTC management should understand this basic theory. The current influx of foreign workers threathened the livelihood of Singaporean workers that attracted the attention of our Government , immediate changes were made to slow down the influx with new rules on ratio of foreign workers to Singaporeans. Yet SNTC circumvented the rules by terminating stables instead of Lionel's 'A' licence to oust him from plying his trade. When you have no stables , how to train horses? Isnt this a foolish strategy to stop his career? Why must the SNTC mete out a death sentence to a guy who have this deep passion in racing and spent almost his whole working life in racing and fulfilling a dream?
Is there foul play? Has he antanganised any management officials that he has to suffer this fate? What is he going to do next at this age? How is he going to explain to his friends and family of this sudden unfair decision made by the club?
He has not trained my horses BUT I feel very disappointed reading the article in Newpaper on his death knell which coincided with his 2 winners within a week. I am determined to bring this issue to the Ministry to seek assistance on his behalf , he seems like a person being victimised . I have stayed long enough in this country to appreciate this Government allowing equal opportunities for every citizen in a level playing field.
By stripping him of his stables and indirectly his trainer's job , whoever metes out this punishment is defying the law of this country. Hopefully , they will reinstate him as I am prepared to pursue this further with the relevant Authorities.
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#2 13-12-2009, 04:53 AM
SamuelStalin
Alfrescian (S) Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 2,501
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Re: Death sentence for local horse trainer Lionel Lee
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He is definitely not the first or the last one to get his dreams crushed, just like everyone else.
Get used to it.
__________________
To be a successful trainer , there are a combination of several factors . One needs to have honest ,supportive and rich owners to back you up with good horses as the very first ingredient . In this instance , this is often difficult as owners are extremely selective in choosing their trainers . They will almost go for the top trainers first , like in brand conscious consumers who will buy LV , Merc or Rolex . The local trainers are often left out unless they have already earned a reputation and having trained several champion horses. Moreover there are only a handful of local trainers , with my pair of hands I can easily name M.Yusof , David Kok & J.Ohara ( recently granted licences ) , Sam Chua , Desmond Koh and Dr.Yeoh ( M'sian ).
The SNTC is now flooded with foreign trainers from NZ, S.Africa & Australia , rumours have it that they often gang up amongst themselves to manipulate the results of races, punters here are at their mercy all the time. The CPIB and Police can only act when there is concrete evidence or catching them red handed but most of the time they are not apprehended . Racing will always have it's risks with all these foreign trainers who are here to make as much hay as possible . They are fully aware that their stay is short term and earning big bucks is their main priority even at the expense of the law.
Why is the SNTC using the excuse of terminating his stables to stop him from continuing his career? He is probably in his early 50s , having spent so much of his time in racing and building a career there, yet to be terminated in short notice without a genuinely valid reason. If his perfomance is not up to par , he should be given more time to improve unless he has committed a serious crime or run foul of the law. Afterall he is a true blue Singaporean , why is he not given a chance to hone his skills and build up his owners base? A successful trainer can only make good if he has numbers in his stable, racing is a numbers game . With more horses in his stable he will automatically have more winners - this needs no further explanation, SNTC management should understand this basic theory. The current influx of foreign workers threathened the livelihood of Singaporean workers that attracted the attention of our Government , immediate changes were made to slow down the influx with new rules on ratio of foreign workers to Singaporeans. Yet SNTC circumvented the rules by terminating stables instead of Lionel's 'A' licence to oust him from plying his trade. When you have no stables , how to train horses? Isnt this a foolish strategy to stop his career? Why must the SNTC mete out a death sentence to a guy who have this deep passion in racing and spent almost his whole working life in racing and fulfilling a dream?
Is there foul play? Has he antanganised any management officials that he has to suffer this fate? What is he going to do next at this age? How is he going to explain to his friends and family of this sudden unfair decision made by the club?
He has not trained my horses BUT I feel very disappointed reading the article in Newpaper on his death knell which coincided with his 2 winners within a week. I am determined to bring this issue to the Ministry to seek assistance on his behalf , he seems like a person being victimised . I have stayed long enough in this country to appreciate this Government allowing equal opportunities for every citizen in a level playing field.
By stripping him of his stables and indirectly his trainer's job , whoever metes out this punishment is defying the law of this country. Hopefully , they will reinstate him as I am prepared to pursue this further with the relevant Authorities.
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#2 13-12-2009, 04:53 AM
SamuelStalin
Alfrescian (S) Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 2,501
Infractions: 0/4 (11)
My Reputation:Points: 179 / Power: 37
Re: Death sentence for local horse trainer Lionel Lee
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He is definitely not the first or the last one to get his dreams crushed, just like everyone else.
Get used to it.
__________________
