ANOTHER early start on the morning of August 12th, my bag was hastily packed again and I was soon hurtling headlong toward the morning traffic of Kuala Lumpur - I had a plane catch - destination Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Most weekends I am away from Malaysia anyway but I was particularly looking forward to this mission as I had been invited to come and ride in the Kazakhstan Derby. The largest and most prestigious meeting all year in Kazakhstan, the Derby itself attracts horses from all over the country and from neighboring areas such as Russia and Kyrgyzstan too.

I was lucky enough to be invited by the country’s leading bloodstock agent Akhat Razak. Akhat has been running his bloodstock agency for a few years and is quite active at a lot of major sales across Europe and the US. We initially met during my first visit to Kazakhstan two years previously and it was apparent from the beginning he appreciated both the Irish thoroughbred and Irish social nuances in equal measure. We struck a deal and hatched a plan one night as it approached the small hours and finally it was becoming a reality.

Kazakhstan is a massive country, situated between the Russian Bear and Chinese Dragon, its geographic location certainly has some pros as well as the obvious cons. The ninth largest country in the world by landmass, it is home to only 17 million people.

The terrain is ever-changing with snowcapped mountains bordering barren deserts, fertile steppes hugging rock canyons, together with large oil and gas resources in plentiful abundance. We were heading for Almaty, formerly the country’s capital under the Soviet Union with those influences still very visible there today.

LEADING STABLE

On Saturday morning we were due to meet the trainer and we headed to the track at 5am, I rode one for him and then we went through his runners and looked around his stable. His horses looked in spectacular condition and Akhat had purchased the majority of the stable’s horses for different owners.

Not a huge stable in terms of numbers but this was the leading stable in terms of quality - the racing is getting ever more competitive and it has improved a lot since the last time I was there. It struck me that these guys are educating themselves at a fair rate and they asked some very relevant questions. There is more money floating around and the quality of horse reflects this.

The general look and feel outside of the barns is still the same though, a rough, ready and unkempt aura envelops the old racecourse reminding you of its Soviet past.

The mature trees lend a certain calmness to the place and it’s certainly a unique experience to stand and converse about the horse with the people who are known throughout history for being the first to tame and ride Equus ferus caballus.

With American stallions and offspring to the fore due to the nature of the racing, primarily dirt, there are still a lot of European-based families represented too. The horse I was due to ride in the Derby is by D’Funnybone, an American sprinter yet out of a half-sister to European stalwart Intikhab.

OFF TO THE RACES

After meeting more trainers, we went for another look at the track and a quick walk around the bend leaving the home straight which is a little tight but has nothing on some of the tracks I’ve witnessed in South East Asia.

As it turned out, the two-year-old would not run and I would be carrying 58kg in the Derby so now the race was on to find a lead bag to make up the weight - the opposite to the weekend before in Indonesia where I had to get down to 52kg!

Sunday morning began with a little walk in the park beside my hotel to warm up and stretch in the sunshine before a light breakfast and off to the races. We managed to find a lead bag and I weighed 54kg stripped in a makeshift jockeys room beside the car I had just changed in.

I managed to make up to 58kg and that was it - as I only had the one ride I only had to weigh out once that morning and wait for my race. All the jockeys get changed into their colours, a few hours before the first regardless of their race time.

It was another very hot and sunny day but beautiful all the same, a slight wind shook the old trees and people continued to stream through the gates of the racecourse. Akhat introduced me to the owner, who seemed like a very affable guy - the plan was for me to be a decoy on the second string while trying to make room for the Guineas winner and first string, who was to be ridden by the trainer.

Not many foreigners have ridden in Kazakhstan and especially not in the Derby, their premier race. We caused quite a stir and everyone was extremely courteous and friendly. I was lucky to be introduced to former Olympic medal winning wrestlers and some legendary equestrians from around the surrounding countries. There were even horses and jockeys brought down from Russia and one jockey came from the Czech Republic for the day too.

MOUNT UP

After watching some great racing on the big oval, over one mile around, it was soon time to mount. Derby jockeys were called for a picture and we were told to get on - Akhat followed me to leg me up and I learned pretty quickly it was his first time doing it.

Having survived that, we were out onto the main track for a parade in front of the grandstand. My horse had been a good two-year-old but had not really grown, I was hoping he would ride a bit bigger than he looked but I had plenty of horse in front and couldn’t complain.

He was keen to get on with it and sweated up quite badly even knocking one of the two grooms leading him and trying to bolt. We got him back and with his head down and it was plain sailing the rest of the way to post. I was loaded fairly early and soon realised I had no idea what the starter was saying - my understanding of the Russian language is nil!

Last horse in and finally got my lad straight and we were away to a good jump having drawn eight of 12. I let him bowl on as instructed and get into a bit of a position about three off the leader and one wide for the tricky turn.

The horses up front were going a good rattle and the kickback was savage, very dry and dusty and pretty hard to see much. Everyone was hunting and I had to give a squeeze to hold my position but I was soon at work and we were struggling.

He had never run more than a mile before and clearly wasn’t going to stay - I couldn’t make out what was happening up front and only learned the stable’s first string had won a minute when I pulled up!

It was some experience and the horse had tried but he’ll have plenty more days back in trip. The owner was ecstatic and I was delighted for Akhat who had selected another Derby winner, this one by Afleet Express and bought for $12,000 at Keeneland.

We had lots of pictures and team photos of the owner and his jockeys and then it was straight to the stands for celebratory vodka! I did a post-race interview with probably the dirtiest face and blackest teeth the presenter had ever seen, all the while receiving congratulatory handshakes for being part of the winning team.

Later on I went back to the stable to change and used the hose at the barn to get some kind of wash - everyone was on such a high and it began to sink in how big a deal the Derby really is here. These people could not have been more welcoming and I was so lucky to get on a decent horse and have a good spin around - all that was left was to celebrate Kazakh style!

RESULT

DERBY OF KAZAKHSTAN (Almaty, Kazakhstan) 2400m (12f)

1. ZHELKABYZ (USA) 2013 b c, Afleet Alex - Be With Me x Corinthian

2. Cumania (USA) 2013 b c, Lemon Drop Kid - Perfect For You x Giant's Causeway

3. Gris D'Acier (Fr) 2013 gr c, Kingsalsa - Blanche Face x Kendor