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Smart four-year-old Accomplished is making his racing comeback under the care of a new trainer in the $100,000 Open Benchmark 89 race (1200m) this Sunday.
The son of Golden Snake was not long ago one of former Kranji trainer Sam Chua’s best horses, and for sentimental reasons, too, given he was the full-brother of Chua’s best horse to-date, dual Group 3 winner Super Gold.
Accomplished might not have quite emulated his brother yet, but his five wins (between 1200m and 1600m) from 14 starts certainly showed bloodlines don’t lie. His racing career was, however, about to hit a temporary setback.
Already spelled after his last run in December when third to Brilliant Deal in an Open Benchmark 83 race over 1600m, Accomplished was moved to trainer Tan Hor Khoon’s yard soon after Chua had to close shop when he was declared a bankrupt.
Tan wanted to give his new ward a first run under his banner a little earlier, but had to bide his time because of some paperwork issues.
“This horse had some paperwork problems when he was transferred to me, mainly because of Sam’s issues. So there was quite a bit of a delay in getting him back on track,” said Tan.
“After everything was cleared, I started preparing him. Though he is still not at his peak yet, he’s fit enough to race now.
“He’s heavier now because of the lengthy spell but he’s fresh up from a break. He’s not a bad horse and has so far done everything we’ve asked of him.”
Besides the green light from the authorities, it was also the feedback from Accomplished’s latest partner Joseph See which persuaded Tan to enter him in Sunday’s race.
“Joseph has been riding him recently at his trackwork and his recent trial and he was very satisfied with his work,” said the Singaporean handler.
“He told me that Accomplished was fit enough to compete and I am sure his two-kilo claim will help as well.”
See has ridden Accomplished at his last three starts, coming away with two wins, but, still felt that the field was a tad strong first-up.
“I rode him in his recent trial and trackwork and I felt that he has some room for improvement, fitness-wise. So he will need this run to get back on track,” said See.
“I feel that he’s more of a middle-distance horse although he won over 1200m before. It was in his earlier days when the field was weaker, while it will be quite hard for him to win in this class, I think.
“Flak Jacket will be the rival to beat as he always gets in front. Though my horse is quite versatile and he did beat him once but it was a 1400m race and his fitness was 100% at the time.”
Though Tan is taking it one step at a time, he has not lost sight of the fact Accomplished is a four-year-old.
“I will see how he runs and pulls up,” he said. “If it’s up to my expectations, I will probably enter him in the remaining Legs of the Singapore Four-Year-Old-Challenge but we haven’t decided which one yet.”
The 4YO series kicked off with the Group 2 Stewards’ Cup (1400m) won by War Affair last Sunday and will see its second Leg, the Group 1 Patron’s Bowl (1600m) run on June 21 while the pinnacle, the Group 1 Emirates Singapore Derby (2000m) will be run on July 12.