Jockey’s career cut by Covid

Central Districts jockey Madan Singh is back on New Zealand shores after a holiday which nearly cost him his career.

The 28-year-old returned to his native India for his annual visit home in late February last year and found himself stranded as a result of border closures due to Covid-19, as the global pandemic took hold.

Singh is currently in quarantine in Auckland and can’t wait to return to Fraser Auret’s Marton stable where he will be reunited with friends, in addition to his brother Mahipal.

‘‘For the first four or five months I couldn’t do anything. But I can’t thank my boss Fraser enough and also Maree Marshall. They kept assisting me with the paperwork and had references from New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing,’’ Singh said.

‘‘The process was delayed when Auckland went into a second lockdown and one of the most challenging things was the limited space in quarantine in New Zealand.

‘‘My paperwork to return was approved a couple of months ago, but getting a flight and a quarantine space took a bit longer and I got back on January 2. It is really exciting to be back. It’s been a long time.’’

Singh said one of the positives was being able to spend a lengthier period with his family, who are based in a small village outside of the northwest city of Jodhpur.

‘‘I rode in Bangalore for four years before coming to New Zealand and have been with Fraser for seven years, so I hadn’t really had a chance to go back to my village for more than a couple of days. It was quite safe in my village, with minimal cases of the virus.’’

Singh was keen to keep his eye in and ride in India while he waited for his passage back to New Zealand, but the virus brought racing to a halt for more than seven months before resuming in November.

‘‘I had some offers to ride in Hyderabad for some good contacts, and also in Mysore, but horse racing shut down,’’ Singh said.

Singh, who was the leading Central Districts apprentice in 2018-19, has 76 career victories. — NZ Racing Desk