Entertainer hands Hakim treble as apprentice builds healthy lead
Standby starter Entertainer (Zoustar) made the most of his late call-up to shine again in the Class 3 race over 1100 metres at Kranji yesterday.
Already a four-time winner over the Polytrack 1100 metres in his customary catch-me-if-you-can tactics, the five-year-old was in his element the moment he was sent forward by Hakim Kamaruddin.
Biding his time in front, Hakim controlled the pace before going for broke upon cornering. With the luxury load of 51.5 kilograms on his back, Entertainer fended off the challengers on his way to a half length victory.
“Entertainer seems to get on well with Hakim. They have built a strong record together, especially over 1100 metres,” said winning trainer Michael Walker.
“I just told Hakim to be positive and get across. It was not too bad compared to his last start when he couldn’t get in.
“He’s a horse who’s got a big action and he couldn’t really use his action at his last start.”
Hakim enjoyed another prolific day, completing a hat-trick following earlier wins on Street Party (Congrats) for James Peters and Lucky Jinsha (Shooting To Win) for Tim Fitzsimmons.
He is now well clear in both senior and junior premierships. On 46 winners, he is as good as home and hosed on the apprentice jockey log with the next best, Krisna Thangamani a distant second on 16 winners, but still remains catchable on the premier table with Danny Beasley, who ride a double aboard Lim’s Denali (Darci Brahma) and Real Efecto (Real Impact) only nine winners behind.
Kok’s rising talent Real effective over a trip
Up-and-comer Real Efecto’s victory in the Class 4 Polytrack race over 1800 metres proved his trainer David Kok right in believing that a step-up in distance would suit the gelding.
“I was not worried about his first time over a distance, but I was a bit worried with how fresh he was in the parade ring,” the winning trainer said.
“But that’s quite normal for him. He’s not settled, but thank goodness, he’s a lot more settled in his races, which is more important.
“Last time, he would pull hard, but Danny has very good hands and got him to relax. In the running, I was happy where he was and when he switched out and saw daylight, I knew he couldn’t lose.”
Jinsha Lucky at business end
Even-money favourite Lucky Jinsha didn’t quite run like a surefire thing but still got the job done, much to his numerous backers’ relief.
Those who were clutching their Lucky Jinsha ticket must have felt close to ripping it up when their pick suddenly drifted out under pressure upon straightening, leaving the coast clear for Jason Ong’s Special Ops (Reset) to power through.
The favourite though was doing his best work at the finish, going on to score by a neck.
“He’s a horse with plenty of upsides. He can go further and he can handle both turf and Polytrack,” said Fitzsimmons.
“It didn’t look really pretty today, though. He overraced a bit, I was hoping he’d be behind the two leaders and then he drifted out in the straight. It was a huge effort to hold on.
“I was really rapt with the way he has risen from Class 5 to Class 4, winning three and running second once in five starts. I don’t think I could have done any better with him.”
Wealth Elite keeps enduring association going
Steven Burridge cemented his strong ties with local owner Rayner Lee with yet another winner in Wealth Elite (Midshipman).
“I’m very happy for Rayner. We go back a long way and together, we won the QEII Cup with Trigger Express, Eric Legrix rode him that day,” said the winning trainer.
“This one (Wealth Elite) is no world beater but he’s honest in his grade.
“He puts your heart in your mouth because he gets so far back. If things don’t go right, he’s in trouble, if they do, he wins like today.
“He’s such a big horse and takes a while to wind up. The 1400 metres is as far as he can go.”