Tough win speaks volumes about Irish-bred mare’s stamina
Champion trainer Michael Clements claimed a brilliant 1-2 finish with Voluminous (Nathaniel) outstaying Shepherd’s Hymn (So You Think) in the $50,000 Class 4 race over Kranji’s Polytrack mile yesterday.
The Clements pair sat in the reverse order in the running with Shepherd’s Hymn dictating and only the James Peters-trained Meryl (Rock ‘n’ Pop) splitting them when he tucked in between into second spot.
As it turned out, they were the three early protagonists who would not give anyone else a chance to have a say at the business end.
At the 300-metre mark, Meryl challenged Shepherd’s Hymn first, but it was Voluminous who produced the best finish on the outside, gunning both down to finish in advance of Shepherd’s Hymn by half a length.
A former UK-based mare who came with a record of one win over 2345 metres, Voluminous is slowly stamping her mark as an up-and-coming stayer at Kranji.
“She won over longer distances in the UK. She’s a one-time winner over 12 and she also ran third over more than 3000m,” said Clements.
“She put in a good run two runs back. I then backed her up and she went no good after that.
“She’s freshened up and she’s come good today. The plan was to go forward around the first turn and be positive.
“There is a 1800-metre race for Class 4 in March, and she may go for that.”
Time Lord pops up again
John Powell showed he really gets along with Time Lord (Guillotine) after he made it two wins from two aboard the Mark Walker-trained six-year-old.
Powell went to work on Time Lord at the top of the straight, swooping down with perfect timing after stablemate Silent Partner (Dandy Man) looked all set to score under gun apprentice Hakim Kamaruddin.
Just when it all looked done and dusted, Time Lord shot to the front in the last 100 metres en route to a half length win. Green Star (Iffraaj) boxed on for third place another three quarters of a length away
Returning a juicy $141 payout, Time Lord ran the Polytrack mile in 1min 38.68secs.
“He’s a funny horse. He had a wind op, and he can be hard to work out, but today was his day,” said Walker.
“Johnny seems to know this horse well, and rode him a treat. From the draw, I told him to come with one run, but it also helped that they did go along in the race.
“To give away five kilos to Silent Partner and still beat him after being caught three to four wide, it was some effort.”
Powell said that compared to the 2000-metre trip of his previous win on Time Lord, a quieter ride at the rear made sense.
“He was coming back to the mile, and there was a lot of speed in the race,” the winning jockey said.
“I then took him to the outside which was the best part of the track, and he was too strong.”
Another Commanding win from Walker-Hakim team
Well backed into $20, Savvy Command (Savabeel) lived up to the solid rally to score undr Hakim Kamaruddin upon resumption in the $75,000 novice race over 1200 metres.
Unsighted since September, the four-year-old bounced back to his very best form right away, beating favourite Be You (Showcasing) by three quarters of a length for an impressive victory, with the winner’s stablemate Brutus (Rubick) another head away in third.
“He pulled a hamstring on a wet track at his last start. He had a really nice break after that,” winning trainer Mark Walker said.
“He had just the one soft trial coming into this race. He never gave me a great deal of confidence on the Polytrack, but he went well on it today.
“He’s a horse with plenty of upsides. Being by Savabeel, he will improve with a bit of distance as well.
“I was also quite happy with Brutus’ third. Hakim is riding really well.”
Kamaruddin is now nine winners clear of Iskandar Rosman (15 versus six) in the Singapore apprentice jockeys’ premiership.
“The horse was fresh. I just followed Mr Walker’s instructions, get cover, let him relax, and the horse was too good,” he said.
“I’m just lucky my master gives me such good rides and I’d also like to say a big thank you to other trainers for their support as well.”
Wind Of Dubai punches the breeze but still salutes
Irish-bred three-year-old Wind Of Dubai (Pride Of Dubai) overcame a torrid trip four wide to scrape home by the barest of margins in the $20,000 open maiden race over 1200 metres on the Polytrack.
Well handled by Kamaruddin, Wind Of Dubai, though green in the home straight, fought tooth and nail all the way to the line, just holding off the fast-finishing Marine Vanguard (Mossman) by a nose. Superman (Super Easy) took third place another three parts of a length away.
“He had a tough run, was caught four wide, which was not ideal. It was a more meritorious run than it looked, he was really tough at the finish,” said winning trainer James Peters.
“He’s still green and was hanging out under pressure, but it was great to see him get the win. He ran very well over 1000 metres last start and we thought 1200 metres would help.
“He had a good apprentice jockey on him, which helps. This horse is no superstar, but it was good to see him get the job done.”