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Shortly after Daniel Meagher saddled a first winner for a big owner (read previous article), it was Leslie Khoo’s turn to also enjoy a similar experience in the very next race.
The former Singaporean jockey has been looking after a bunch of horses from relative newcomer Elite Performance Stable (of Elite Excalibur fame) for a while, but no victory had thus far sealed the new partnership – until Elite Warrior came along in the $65,000 Initiation race over 1200m on Monday.
Originally prepared by Meagher, the son of Reward For Effort had just the one run for Khoo two weeks ago, flashing home late to run third to Snip in a 1100m race for maidens.
There was room to be positive on Monday, even if the outermost alley (12) and the presence of Bruce Marsh’s debutant Macavity (Alan Munro), considered by many as a sure thing on the strength of his barrier trials, both at home and in New Zealand, made for some serious challenges.
But Elite Warrior ($22) made light of all these perceived setbacks by producing a sterling performance that certainly spoke volumes about his budding ability.
He did travel three wide for most of the way, but somehow, effortlessly slid up into a striking position at the top of the straight to put the race away with consummate ease, holding the next horse over the line, I’m On Fire (Barend Vorster), four lengths astern.
Newcomer Saint Lincoln (John Powell) did well on debut to finish third another 2 ¾ lengths away. The winning time was 1min 11.54secs for the 1200m on Polytrack.
As for Macavity, he seemed to have all the favours in transit, smothered up behind the early speed, but was already a beaten horse when Munro was seen hard at work before the home turn, and the gelding was not reciprocating with the expected yield. He beat two home.
“At his first run for me, the 1100m was a bit short. Today’s 1200m was a good distance that suited him better,” said Khoo.
“Even though he was drawn wide, he was able to run up with the pace, and in the straight he gave a nice kick. The way he finished off tells me he can go up to 1400m and a mile no problem.”
Regarded as a local legend when he was a jockey, Khoo has been a force to reckon with in the local training ranks since he hung up his boots, although success at the elite level has eluded him thus far. Maybe one of the Elite horses could change this state of affairs, but Khoo was not getting too carried away.
“It’s great to have my first winner for the Elite Performance Stable,” he said.
“I’ve got around 12 horses for them. It’s hard to tell how far they will go, I can only hope we continue to enjoy a lot of success.”
Shafiq, who rode Elite Warrior at his last outing, said he went into the race with an open mind given the majority of the opponents were unknown quantities.
“He’s a horse who keeps improving. I’m not sure how far he will go, but he won a good race today,” said the former two-time Singapore champion apprentice jockey.
“Today, I didn’t know the form of half of the runners, so I thought it was a fairly open race. Even though he was three wide, he had cover and at the 600m, when he saw room in front of him, he grabbed the bit and went through.
“He didn’t really quicken up, he was going fairly one-paced but he still won by a big margin.”
A puzzled Marsh was seen trying to make some sense of Macavity’s dismal run after the race. It was the second consecutive disappointment with the Graham Mackie and Valachi Downs-owned newcomer as he was a late scratching at his debut when he played up at the start and got cast.
“Alan said he got a bump at the 600m, and he thinks that could have affected him,” said Marsh.
“He was concerned with his action after that. Maybe he pulled a muscle, I’m not sure, we’ll have to reassess him.”