Nepean repays Baertschiger for not giving up on him
Shane Baertschiger’s guarded optimism ahead of Nepean’s (Roman Emperor) run yesterday was well rewarded when the Listed winner made it a one-act affair in the Kranji Stakes A race (1400m).
Last year’s EW Barker Trophy (Listed, 1400m) winner was second-up after a seven-month break following a run of poor form that was at odds to his big upset win in the feature last November.
At his comeback race on September 18, Nepean went largely unnoticed, hence his generous quote of $116 at his second start, even if Baertschiger thought the eight-year-old’s previous run was not without some merit.
“After he won the Barker, he kept running more and more bad races. Some partners in the ownership wanted to retire him and I convinced them to give him one last crack with surgery,” said Baertschiger.
“First-up, he needed the run, but it’s only in the last 200 metres that his condition blew out. He only got beaten around four lengths.
“Today, I just told Matty (Kellady) to stack them up and rack them up. He did it easy in the end.”
Sacred Judgement scores again
Sacred Judgement (So You Think) made it four on the bounce in the Class 4 Division 1 race over 1400 metres.
Though the former Tony Pike-trained gelding landed with a smart record of two wins from four starts in New Zealand, he never quite lived up to that promise after being sent to Mark Walker’s yard in 2019.
Save for the odd flash of brilliance, Sacred Judgement flattered to deceive as he went through his first 15 starts at Kranji without greeting the judge, but deep into his second prep, he woke up on August 8 when he finally cracked it for his first Singapore win in a Class 4 race over six furlongs.
Sacred Judgement’s doubters were silenced with three more wins in quick succession, including a textbook ride from Walker’s apprentice Jerlyn Seow Poh Hui yesterday.
“Sacred Judgement had some feet problems but they seem to have come good. He has hit a purple patch of form,” said Walker.
“He’s in such a good form, I will just keep running him. I’ll probably find a Class 3 race for him next.
“Jerlyn rode him well today. She loses one kilo of claim after that as she was at her tenth win,” said Walker.
“Three kilos are still good. She has really made rapid progress in the last three months.”
With a double following his earlier win with King Arthur (I Am Invincible) in the maiden over 1200 metres taking his score to 57 winners, Walker has now extended his lead in the Singapore trainers’ premiership to seven.
Special Ops thriving back in trip
Blinkers coupled with a drop to Polytrack sprints has proved to be the winning recipe for Special Ops (Reset) following another resounding success in the Class 4 Division 2 race over the Polytrack 1200 metres.
“From day one, we knew this horse had some sort of ability. When he first came, he struck me as a horse that needed a bit of ground,” said winning trainer Jason Ong.
“When Dan (Beasley) told me to put blinkers on after one run this year, he became so sharp, and ran very well over shorter trips.
“But at some stage, I think he can go over further again. I’ll look at the programme, the distance he can handle will depend on the races available.
“I’m still learning about this horse. The good thing is he’s progressive and versatile.”
Double for Gray, Hickman, Lerner
The old firm of trainer Stephen Gray and long-time owner Paul Hickman, in combination with a budding partner in jockey Marc Lerner, hogged the first two races on the 12-race programme with Billy Elliot (Per Incanto) and St Alwyn (Epaulette).
Both were registering their second wins in lowly Class 5 events – Billy Elliot in a 1400-metre turf and St Alwyn in a Polytrack 1200 metre – but Gray was still thrilled with the flying start.
“Paul owns the first horse on his own, and the second horse with his poker friends – they’ll be happy! Paul is the longest-standing owner still with me, he’s not had the best horses maybe, but he’s had good winners over the years.
“He’s cut back a bit, and is now sitting on the fence, seeing what happens with racing before he decides what to do. We race a few horses in Australia together, and we’ll see where they end up.”