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Classy stayer Lizarre bounced back to his sparkling best in the most auspicious way by taking out the first feature race of the year, the $200,000 Group 3 New Year Cup (1900m) on Tuesday.
Photo by Singapore Turf Club
After a promising career in South Africa, the Jet Master six-year-old was once touted as a major player in middle-distance to staying features at Kranji. Things were going in the right direction when he landed the Mandai Classic Stakes (2200m) in October 2011 and subsequently ran a brave second to El Dorado in the Longines Singapore Gold Cup (2200m).
The EMMA Stable-owned galloper even went on to run second in last year’s New Year Cup when beaten by more than two lengths by Flying Fulton, before it all went pear-shaped.
Lizarre, who before heading to Singapore, also saw a career in Dubai under leading trainer Mike de Kock's care, curtailed due to a fractured hip, sustained a tendon injury that sidelined him for eight months. Trainer Patrick Shaw and his team pulled out all stops to bring him back to racing fitness, and after a few failed attempts, their efforts finally came to fruition on Tuesday.
Ridden for the first time by French jockey Davy Bonilla, Lizarre ($33) settled at the rear in a muddled-paced race before he worked his way through the field from the 800m to sit in a striking position at the top of the straight.
A whiff of a mini-upset was in the air when $60 shot Black Ice (K A’Isisuhairi) pinched a break at the 300m mark with neither of the two market leaders Dujardin (Benny Woodworth) and last year’s New Year Cup winner Flying Fulton (Shafiq Rizuan) really flattering under pressure, but Lizarre was just too good when he put in the big bounds down the middle to reel in Black Ice and hit the line with 1 ½ lengths to spare.
Shaw’s main runner Maurice Utrillo (Greg Cheyne) turned in his usual gallant run to finish third another 1 ¼ lengths away. The winning time was 1min 59.31 secs.
With Shaw currently still on holidays in South Africa, assistant-trainer Ricardo Le Grange did the honours at the winner’s circle, and was probably heaving a collective sigh of relief for the whole team.
Le Grange said the EMMA Stable-owned gelding was always caught in a race against time due to the serious nature of his injury and as a result ran well below his peak in the Gold Cup. But following a marked improvement at his next run when fifth to Flying Fulton in the Group 3 Colonial Chief Stakes (1700m) on Polytrack last November, the team had reasons to hope for a better performance in the New Year Cup.
“I’m so glad this horse has finally won after all the problems he’s had with his tendon,” said Le Grange, who was proving more than an apt deputy for the day having already saddled three previous winners for his boss in Don Inaki, Board Walk and Valevole.
“After he ran second in the Gold Cup, he had his tendon problem, and it’s taken us such a long time to bring him back.
“As you will gather, because of his setbacks, we couldn’t get him to full fitness as quickly as we would have liked. I would say if the Gold Cup had come right about now, he would have been a serious contender.”
Lizarre had only three prep runs before lining up in the 2200m showpiece, and clearly underdone, he could only beat two home, but beaten only 8.4 lengths by top mare Better Life.
“Still, he has continued to improve and we really saw it as his last race (Colonial Chief Stakes). After that, he ran a super trial two weeks ago behind two top sprinters and Davy rode him in a very good track gallop five days ago.
“His tendon issues are hopefully behind him, but we’ll just have to monitor him. If he keeps going well, we may consider another crack at the Gold Cup at the end of the year, but that is still a long way away.”
Le Grange had a special word for Maurice Utrillo, saying he was brave in defeat even though he was clearly not at home in the slowly-run race.
"The pace was not made to suit him at all, but he still put in a super run. We can't complain as we won the race anyway," he said.
After beginning his Singapore stint last November, Bonilla, a multiple-Group winning jockey back in his native France, was delighted he had been able to notch his first feature win at his new base.
“Things are starting to pick up for me here and that first big-race win can only boost my confidence. I also have to thank Pat, who has always tried to support me whenever he could,” said Bonilla.
“I rode this horse last week, and he gave me a very good feel. They asked me if he needed blinkers (which he wore at his last start), but though I've not ridden him in a race, I told them I didn’t think he needed any.
“The pace was a bit slow at first, and I was a bit worried in the backstraight as he’s the type of horse who needs a genuine tempo.
“But then they started to rush forward, and I was able to snag back to the inside. That suited me as I got a nice suck into the race.
“I didn’t have to work on him and he was just travelling into the race behind the other runners. I was able to follow Flying Fulton everywhere, which was always my pre-race plans.
“At the top of the straight, I was really confident he could win as he was still full of running. He’s a very generous horse and has a certain class about him.”
Lizarre has now recorded three wins and four seconds from 13 starts for prizemoney fast approaching the half-million mark for the EMMA Stable. Though it is early days, Shaw’s fourth win puts him right on top on the leaderboard, two clear of next best, John O’Hara who saddled a double with Cheetah On Fire and Chevy.