Double brings up much-needed fillip for Burridge
The Steven Burridge yard got a much-needed shot in the arm with a double courtesy of two mildly-fancied runners in Wealth Elite (Midshipman) and Chalaza (Road To Rock) yesterday.
Neither are world beaters, but the Australian handler still welcomed any numbers that can boost a win tally that has struggled to take off this year.
On four winners before Saturday, Burridge has suddenly vaulted over six trainers (Leslie Khoo later passed him again with Charger taking the last) to now sit in 14th place.
With a string scaled back to only 25 horses and no top guns in the ranks, the road ahead is still long and arduous, but the likeable horseman will toast to the two wins.
“We’ve had a shocking run, but all we can do is just keep trying,” he said.
“It was a good day. It’s a change of luck for us.
“Look at Chalaza. It’s good for the stable and Julie (Burridge) as this horse is getting on at eight and hasn’t won for 1182 days!
“He’s sound and honest, and it was good to see him win again. We thought Red Rover would be hard to beat, not to mention my horse was three wide, but he won a nice race.”
The eight-year-old ($59) plotted a wide course smothered in midfield, but pinged beautifully under Wong Chin Chuen’s hard riding to go and reel in a rejuvenated Qaraat (Mossman) for a one-length victory.
Favourite Red Rover (O’Reilly) somehow lost a couple of lengths midrace, but recovered in the home straight to take third place another length and a half away. The winning time was 1min 11.61secs for the Polytrack 1200m.
Jockey Jimmy Wong also rode Burridge’s first leg of the Saturday two-timer, Wealth Elite ($38).
The Brazilian-bred four-year-old came from well back to score going away from Super Smart (Big Brown) two and a one-quarter lengths astern with Al Green (Exchange Rate) third another length away. The winning time was 1min 11.61secs for the 1200m on the Polytrack.
Wealth Elite has now taken his record to three wins, one second and one third from 14 starts for stakes earnings around the S$85,000 mark for the Loti-A Stable while Chalaza, who is twice is age, boasts a much thicker record of six wins, six seconds and eight thirds from 52 starts for prize-money that has now hit around the S$365,000 mark for Julie Burridge’s J Racing Bloodstock No 3 Stable.
Hard Too Think too good at first 2000m test
Hard Too Think (All Too Hard) proved he was a future stayer in the making after a solid win in the S$50,000 Class 4 race over 2000m.
Trainer Stephen Gray was a happy man after the win, especially as he had always seen a career as such for the gelding at Kranji, with the ultimate prize, the Singapore Gold Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) at the end of the year (November 11) already in his sights.
The Singapore Derby (Gr 1, 1800m) on July 25 looms as an earlier event the four-year-old is eligible for, but Gray would only be sidetracked into a more testing Weight-for-Age race if Hard Too Think qualifies.
“He could be my Gold Cup horse in November. He proved today he could run 2000m,” said the Kiwi handler.
“As for the Derby, he needs to earn a few more points, there is this one Class 3 race over 1800m, which I suppose he could run in.
“Whether he gets in, it’s the same old story with handicap and Weight-for-Age races. But there are limited options for such races, that’s the problem.
“I’m not sure who will get in the Derby, but I think the competition is not overly strong. Marc (Lerner) also told me today he would like a wet track even better.”
The French jockey delivered a textbook ride on Hard Too Think, taking a nice drop before upping the ante upon straightening and duly charging forward down the middle of the track, even if as the archetype stayer, he was more grinder than spectacular inside the last furlong.
Along the rails, Meryl (Rock ‘N’ Pop) had a crack, but had to settle for second place three parts of a length away. Gray’s second runner King’s Speech (Darci Brahma) took third place another two and a quarter lengths away.
Sent out at $21, Hard Too Think clocked 2min 3.96secs for the 2000m on the Short Course, and was bringing up his third win from nine starts for prize-money that has hit around the S$115,000 mark for a syndicate put together under the Stephen Gray Racing Stable.
“I bought him at the Gold Coast yearling sale and sent him to New Zealand. I syndicated him as a yearling, there weren’t many people on board at first,” said Gray.
“He was shinsore, but they told me not to worry too much as he goes good. He’s now got a good bunch of owners, some new and they’re all excited.”
The return of Prodigal to show how he functions
Standby starter Prodigal (Proisir) landed a big win along with a backstory that was full of quirks, not just for himself but also for his interestingly-named group of owners.
Trainer Michael Clements had for one all along described the New Zealand-bred three-year-old as “physically well developed, but mentally behind”.
That waywardness was well put in a nutshell at his debut in a Restricted Maiden race over six furlongs on May 9, when well backed, but straightaway gave his backers few reasons to cheer with an erratic run on a wide path throughout.
Clements must have thought they would have to go back to the drawing board when an equally hot-headed Prodigal did not give any suggestion he had mended his ways while parading as a promoted starter (with the scratching of Classic Thirtysix) to Saturday’s S$75,000 Restricted Maiden race over 1400m.
Punters had, however, not totally deserted him as his S$51 odds would suggest, but they were about to doubt the wisdom of that unflinching support.
The race got underway without any hiccup with Shafrizal Saleh able to slot the chestnut gelding into the box-seat behind race-leader Ibex (Dream Ahead), but the Malaysian rider was soon in for a torrid time restraining his overracing mount, who was seen clambering on heels as the leaders stacked up the speed.
Turning for home, things got even hairier as he got trapped behind the weakening Ibex, but Shafrizal, knowing he had a coil spring ready to release all his pent-up energy underneath him, went for desperate measures.
Going for a sharp turn towards daylight on the outside, they bumped into stablemate Starfortune (Pierro) in the process, but once the gangly gelding was in the clear, he went through his gears like the good horse his connections were always confident he was.
Golden Sprint (Contributer) looked home and hosed as he stormed in on the outside, but Prodigal sprouted wings to dash past him for a half-length win. Favourite Ace Sovereign (Darci Brahma) was in the mix inside the last two furlongs but had to settle for third another length and a quarter away. Prodigal ran the 1400m on the Short Course in 1min 23.75secs.
“We’ve always rated him. He started as favourite first-up, but he was mentally not there yet, even if he’s got ability,” said Clements.
“He’s physically well developed but he’s mentally behind. Today, he was still not good in the parade ring and on the way out, but he was more settled around horses in the running. He also met with some traffic jam in the straight. He’s an awkward horse to ride and his saddle slipped, too, but Shafrizal knows him very well.
“Under strong riding, he got up in the concluding stages. He’s definitely a horse with a future.”
That would be music to the ears of his new owners, who go by the offbeat name of The Functioning Degenerates, a bunch of Australians headed by Jake and Robbie Smith from Melbourne.
“They’re a group of guys in Australia. They are old friends with my B trainer Michael White,” said Clements.
“They’ve supported the stable with this one, whom I bought at the breeze-ups in New Zealand. They’ve got a few more young ones coming through, a couple in pre-training in Australia and one in Argentina.
“I guess they picked a name that does reflect what they think of themselves. In any case, it doesn’t matter what name you choose in horse racing!”
Three-year-olds Sahabat (Foxwedge) and Al Meqdam (Exceed And Excel) brought up a training treble for Clements.
Contrary to Prodigal, both Sahabat ($13) and Al Meqdam ($18) enjoyed much cleaner air in their all-the-way wins in the S$30,000 Class 5 Division 1 race over 1100m and S$20,000 Open Maiden race over 1400m respectively. Both Clements gallopers were ridden by four-time Singapore champion jockey Vlad Duric, who went on to claim a hat-trick of his own aboard pick-up ride Gold Kingdom (Animal Kingdom) for trainer Tan Kah Soon in the S$30,000 Class 5 race over 1600m.
With the big haul, Clements reclaims the lead and some breathing space (three winners) from Mark Walker with whom the Singapore champion trainer was tied on 32 winners before the start of Saturday proceedings.
One winner who gave the Zimbabwean-born conditioner a similar kick to Prodigal’s – minus the innuendos about mental conditions, tongue-in-cheek or otherwise – had to be Sahabat.
“Similar to Prodigal, we rated Sahabat. He was well-backed first-up but mentally, he was not ready yet,” he said.
“He won his trials, he looked good in the paddock but he was showing nothing in his races. He was doing it back to front, he was doing too much too early, he compounded and showed no finish. We’ve taught him to settle down in his trials and we felt he was going to go much better today.”