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Underrated galloper Totality reaped the full benefit of a three-month spell to claim his first Group success when he landed the $200,000 Group 3 Three Rings Trophy (1400m) on Sunday.
Photo by Singapore Turf Club
Not seen since his fourth place to Dujardin in a 1400m Kranji Stakes B race on November 11, the strapping chestnut was sent to the paddocks in a bid to get him to settle better – and that strategy seemed to have paid off, to the great delight of his trainer Michael Clements and connections, the Classican Stable.
Totality ($68), who used to score imposing wins from the front as a three-year-old, took the shortest way home by sticking to the rails, bursting late under British jockey Alan Munro to score by a half-length from Touch Of Class (Ivaldo Santana) with Savannah Dancer (Joao Moreira) third another half-a-length away. The winning time was 1min 22.49secs for the 1400m on the Short Course.
Savannah Dancer was the first out of the gates before City Lad (Manoel Nunes) speared over on the outside to break away to a commanding lead.But Nunes immediately applied the brakes, which caused a bit of a bunch-up a the 1000m, with Hot Gold (Steven King) left with no other choice but to drive forward and sit outside City Lad with Running Tall (Barend Vorster) next in the running line.
Savannah Dancer had in the meantime dropped to the rear while Totality was enjoying a cosy run on the rails towards the rear. Favourite Speedy Cat (John Powell) was not out of his ground either, running midfield and waiting for the home turn to produce his acceleration.
Turning for home, City Lad was still showing the way, but was quickly reeled in by Speedy Cat while Touch Of Gold and Totality were poking their noses on the inside and Savannah Dancer was also making a strong bid on the outside.
At the 100m, the race could swing in any direction with at least four runners still in with a realistic chance of landing the Group 3 event, but Totality lifted the best on the inside to sneak in first across the line.
Clements, who was at his first Group win since Dontellthewife won the Group 3 JBBA Moonbeam Vase (1800m) in April 2011, said Totality's time spent on the sidelines was a key element in Sunday’s triumph.
“He’s always had a huge amount of potential, but we’ve had to teach him to settle back all the time,” said Clements.
“He was just too strong in his races and I thought I’d just give him a spell. Though he came back fresh, he was a lot more relaxed.
“I didn’t trial him last week as I didn’t want him to fire up, but at the same time just keep him nicely tuned up for his return.
“To win first-up out of the paddock was just a credit to his qualities today. He was too keen in the (Singapore) Guineas, but I’d like to get him over the mile again.”
Munro, who was coming off the back of a Group 1 win across the Causeway when he secured the Group 1 Tungku Gold Cup aboard Rebel Fury in Kuala Lumpur last Sunday, said the inside draw (two) was a major factor in getting Totality to harness all his raw energy into more productive results.
“He had no luck last year as he often overraced when we pushed forward from a wide draw,” said Munro.
“Most of the time, he’s drawn 13 or 14 and is caught deep and we had no other choice but to go forward. He’s such an aggressive and attacking type and he was a spent force when he raced like that.
“It’s the first time he’s got a low draw today and he was able to switch off better on the rails. He was also off in weight, which helped too.
“There was no plan to stay there (on the rails) and at the top of the straight, that was where he was. He was a bit hesitant and just thought about it for a bit, but once he went, he was too good and won.”
A New Zealand-bred four-year-old by Danroad, Totality has now racked up four wins and seven placings from 19 runs for prizemoney in excess of $370,000 for the Classican Stable.