Brian Dean first started as a licensed apprentice jockey with the Victoria Racing Club 1973 and received his professional jockey's licence in 1979. Among his 626 career wins were 21 country cup winners. He also rode in short stints in the MRA circuit as a visiting jockey in 1989, 1991 and 1993. His 35 wins included the Merlion Trophy and Orchid Trophy. Dean subsequently worked as a track rider and then senior track rider for Malaysian trainers Leong Poh Keong, Marinus van Breukelen and Peter Lee from July 1995 to May 2000. Then from 2002 onwards, he worked as a Stable Supervisor to top Kranji trainers Charles Leck and Laurie Laxon before striking out on his own. A familiar face at the winner's circle, Dean won his first Group race in 2007 when WORLD AIRLINES took out the Group 2 EW Barker Trophy.

Charles Leck started out as a trainer in Macau in 1992. He won the Macau Trainers' Championship for three successive seasons before returning to Singapore. On his return, he immediately made an impact in the MRA circuit in 1996 with several feature wins. Leck won the MRA Trainers' Premiership in the 1998, 1999 and 2003 racing seasons. Regarded as a master trainer of sprinters, Leck has won the premier sprint race, the Lion City Cup five times. A host of cracks have emerged from his yard, including the likes of NINETYFIVE EMPEROR, SUPERB EFFECT, PACIFIC PRINCE, among others.

The experienced David Hill, who started his career in India under the tutelage of his father in 1969, was previously licensed by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, where he trained 377 winners and was crowned joint champion trainer in Hong Kong in the 1992/93 racing season. The Englishman applied the polish to RIVER VERDON, who was three times Horse of The Year and remains the only Triple Crown winner in Hong Kong. Hill has been a dedicated hard worker since he relocated to Kranji in 2006. ONCEUPONATIME has been more than a fairytale horse to him, having provided his two feature wins, the 2007 Magic Millions Juvenile Championship and the 2008 Singapore Guineas

Don Baertschiger has more than 35 years' experience in the racing industry, 17 of them as a professional trainer based in Melbourne. He was granted an "A" Class licence by Victoria Racing Club in 1992. Baertschiger's biggest success in Australia came from the Moonee Valley Gold Cup with BUTTERNUT in 1985. He joined the MRA circuit in 1993 and has consistently been among the Top 10 trainers in Singapore. The feature races Baertschiger has landed include the 2008 Lion City Cup with CAPABLANCA, the 2000 Raffles Cup with CON AIR and the Patrons' Bowl two years running in 1999 and 2000 with LOTSAGELT and SUPER LUCK. Baertschiger achieved an important milestone in April 2008 when he rang up his 500th winner at Kranji with SUN VILLAGE.

Hideyuki Takaoka has been training horses for more than 10 years with the National Association of Racing (NAR) in Japan until December 2002 when he moved his operations to Kranji. A jockey-turned-trainer, he received his professional trainer's licence in 1992. In his Hokkaido training base, he bagged 337 winners including several in graded races. He saddled CROW RIVER in the 1996 Hokkai Yusyun and then sent out TOSHO LUCKY to win the 1998 Young Challenge Cup. In 1999, his charge, TAKINO SPECIAL captured the Hokkaido Yusyun for 2-year-olds and another charge, NAMI won the Edelweiss Yusyun in 2000. He topped the NAR Trainers Championship in 2000 with 54 winners. In that year, he was also voted the best trainer of the Hokkaido Racing NAR Grand Prix. In Singapore, he has taken a while to show his wares, but after a period of adaptation, is now firmly entrenched in the Kranji training ranks. Takaoka enjoyed his biggest moment in Singapore in 2006 when DIAMOND DUST captured the Committee's Prize. That same season turned out to be a bumper year for the Japanese handler who racked up a personal Kranji best of 42 wins.