El Don the boss once more
An in-depth pre-race pow wow between trainer and jockey paved the way to Senor Don (Senor Candy) atoning for his last-start defeat as he returned to winning ways at Kranji yesterday.
Ricardo Le Grange and Wong Chin Chuen had to devise a smart strategy to give the on-pace Argentinain-bred a most conservative run from his wide alley in the Class 2 race over the Polytrack mile.
Well apprised of all the possible scenarios, Wong went in with the do’s and don’ts etched in his mind – and came out with the perfect delivery.
After jostling for an early position behind the pacesetters and momentarily getting trapped three wide down the back straight, Wong was able to manoeuvre into a challenging position entering the home stretch, keeping on to defeat On Line (O’Reilly) by half a length. Sacred Croix (Savabeel) finished a creditable third another three parts of a length away.
Senor Don ran the Polytrack mile in 1min 38.3secs, more than two seconds quicker than his only other win at Kranji, in a similar 1600-metre event on the all-weather last November, but under a pouring rain.
“I had a good discussion with Ricardo about this horse, especially the wide draw,” said Wong.
“Ricardo told me what to do – ride him positive, but we first see how he jumps. Then he told me to commit from there and try and settle behind the speed.
“It’s worked out just nice. The rhythm of the race was suitable, and he also loves this weather and type of ground.
“He kept finding and was the strongest at the finish. Thank you to Ricardo for preparing this horse to perfection for me.”
Le Grange certainly deserves most of the credit, but that didn’t stop the gracious handler from returning the compliment to the former two-time Singapore champion apprentice jockey at the weigh-in.
“It was a super ride by CC from the wide draw. That’s exactly how I wanted the horse to be ridden,” said the winning trainer.
Winless since Leatherhead (Helmet) scored on January 9, Le Grange had earlier got on the scoresheet when Rocket Ryane (Deep Field) opened his account under Danny Beasley.
Kok gets Real serious on 3YO races
Having already shown his forwardness at three of his four previous starts, Real Efecto (Real Impact) stamped his credentials with a facile victory in the restricted maiden race over the Polytrack mile.
Partnered by champion jockey Vlad Duric – who was making a riding comeback after missing three meetings through a throat issue – Real Efecto never gave his backers any anxious moments as the favourite asserted his clear superiority over the rest of the field. Ace Sovereign (Darci Brahma) won the battle for the minors two and three-quarter lengths away, just touching off stablemate Super Atas (Charm Spirit) for the runner-up spot by a short head.
“This horse has plenty of speed, and is a class above this lot,” said winning trainer David Kok. who owns a share of the gelding.
“He will be going for the second leg of the 3YO series (Classic, 1400m), but I’m not sure about the first leg (Sprint, 1200m).
“He’s more of a 1400 metre-mile type of horse. We’ll see how it goes.”
Jack stars again after 19 months
Japanese stayer Star Jack (Jungle Pocket) returned to winning ways after out slugging his rivals in his typical tradesman-like style.
Unsuccessful for 19 months, the seven-year-old didn’t actually give the impression he could break the stalemate at the 400 metres of the Class 4 race over 1800 metres on Polytrack.
If his paltry track record on the all-weather was anything to go by, it came as no surprise he looked to be making heavy weather of it.
At his 27 previous starts at Kranji, Star Jack ventured only once on the Polytrack, beating two home in a mile race in November.
Winning trainer Hideyuki Takaoka, however, was unfazed by that one failure.
“I think it’s the distance (that helped win again). There aren’t many long-distance races around,” said the four-time Singapore Gold Cup (Listed, 2000m) winner.
“Star Jack is a pure stayer, but his record on Polytrack wasn’t good. In Japan, he ran on dirt, but it was a “nothing” result!
“Here, he raced once on Polytrack, but it was over 1600 metres which is too short for him. So, I thought let’s just try a second time, it should be okay.”
More returns in store for Prosperous winner
Promising three-year-old Prosperous Return (Fighting Sun) made it back-to-back wins in the Class 4 Division 2 race over 1200 metres with connections saying that was only a taste of things to come.
Just like at his last-start win when ridden by Vlad Duric, Prosperous Return, with Louis-Philippe Beuzelin up this time, was ridden positive from his wide alley clearing out to a two-length win.
“This horse wants a mile but he has such a high cruising speed. He’s actually going against his natural pattern, ideally, he should run more relaxed,” said Michael White, assistant to winning trainer Michael Clements.
“He sat outside the leader, but Louis summed it up well. He had all the favours and he put it away like a horse going places.
“It looks like he can go up to 1400 metres to 1600 metres. I’m not quite sure how good he is, but what I know is we haven’t seen the best of him.”