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Hot favourite Super Hero franked his recent good form to open his account with a stylish win in the $75,000 Restricted Maiden race over 1200m on Friday night.
After an eye-catching third to smart stablemate Skywalk at his last run, the James Peters-trained Rip Van Winkle three-year-old held his own with a quick getaway to find the lead, which was astutely managed by jockey Mark Ewe. The tempo remained fairly steady until they were homeward-bound where Super Hero ($11), under Ewe’s urgings, skipped clear to go and record a most resounding five-length maiden victory.
Awatere (Manoel Nunes) stuck on well for second, two-and-a-half lengths clear of Great Warrior (Matthew Chadwick) in third place. The winning time was 1min 12.14secs for the 1200m on the Polytrack.
Peters praised Ewe, a jockey he seldom teams up with, for the initiative he showed in making his own luck upfront, rating the gelding through steady midrace sectionals before giving the slip at the 300m mark.
“When there isn’t much form to go with, you can only try and find a spot where the horse will be comfortable,” said the Englishman.
“I told Mark to decide for himself where he wanted to be. Hold him at the back or he can lead if he find the front comfortably.
“They were able to dictate the pace nicely from the front and they won an easy race in the end.
“This horse has always shown a decent level of ability, even if he is not the easiest of horse to deal with in training.
“But he’s sure got an engine and I think the Polytrack suits him very well too.”
As for Ewe, who was notching only his fourth winner for the season, he said the flexible instructions given by Peters helped him fashion his own battle plan.
“There were no real instructions from James, though I thought I would probably settle in midfield,” said the former three-time Singapore champion apprentice jockey.
“But the pace was so slow, that I found myself going forward. Super Hero settled very well for me and even when the other horses, came to us, I just let him stride along.
“When we cornered, I changed my reins and gave him a few smacks, and he responded well when he kicked clear. I was still worried something would come at us, but I didn’t hear anything!”
Raced by the Super Team Stable of Mr Andre Lim of Super Easy fame, Super Hero was registering his first win from four starts for prizemoney close to the $50,000 mark.