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English trainer James Peters combined with the Oscar Racing Stable for a double courtesy of Mr Hooper and Mr Hanks on Sunday.
Peters went on to wrap up a terrific day at the office with a third winner when Julius Caesar won the penultimate race (see other report) for the China Horse Club.
The third-year trainer has not been one of the best off the starting blocks this year, but has seen his season slowly turn around in recent months. He brought up a big haul of six winners in June, which included another two Oscar winners, Mr Hopkins and Mr Hanks again.
The former Singapore champion owner has also been slightly less prominent of late, but with those new young bucks (Mr Hanks after all is only at his second season) starting to hit their straps, the yellow and blue spotted silks of Mr Phua Chian Kin have every chance of being featured more regularly from now on.
While Mr Hooper ($39) was at a winning debut in the $85,000 Restricted Maiden race over 1200m, Mr Hanks ($20), though still only three, has been around the block a bit longer, having even won at Group 3 level, and was recording his fourth win at his 10th start in the $80,000 Class 3 race over 1200m.
A two-year-old by Shamexpress, Mr Hooper showed great fighting qualities to outsprint another newcomer in Lord Of Light (Ryan Curatolo) before fending off a stinging late charge from outsider Toosbies (Barend Vorster) by one length. Just like Mr Hooper, Toosbies (x Equiano) is also a two-year-old making his Kranji baptism of fire and had only the luxury load of 50kgs on his back.
The winning time for the 1200m on the Long Course was 1min 11.39secs.
With Mr Hanks, the pathway to victory was not charted without some hard work from jockey Olivier Placais.
At the top of the straight, the Showcasing three-year-old seemed very tradesmanlike in his action as he came drawing on level terms with frontrunner Uncle Lucky, on whom Nooresh Juglall was eyeing a hat-trick of wins following earlier victories aboard Song To The Moon and Hooga Net.
But under Placais’s relentless urgings, Mr Hanks kept chipping away at the margin as he eventually ground his way past Uncle Lucky to finish ahead by a long neck across the line. Peters’ second runner Ottawa (Wong Chin Chuen) chimed in too late to settle for third place another half-a-length away. The winning time was 1min 10.34secs for the 1200m on the Long Course.
Peters was naturally stoked with the results, especially for an owner who has continued to pledge solid support to his stable since he came on board last year.
“It’s good for CK to get another couple of winners. He’s been a great supporter of our stable,” said Peters.
“Mr Hanks seems to be back in good form. That last win has given him the confidence back.
“Olivier rode him well and they were the strongest over the line. He’s done a great job as he’s already won four races now.
“The 3YO series didn’t quite work out for him. He had bad barrier draws, but since he’s come back in Class 4, he has come back in form.
“The other horse (Mr Hooper) did a good job, too; he won on raw ability. He will come on by a huge amount from today’s run.”
Placais actually felt Mr Hanks was “running on empty” upon cornering, but a few smacks on the backside did get him all revved up.
“I thought he had nothing left to give me at the top of the straight. I thought I was gone,” said the bang-in-form rider.
“As he was drawn a bit wide, the plan was to ride him along to get into a handy spot. Once we were up there, he travelled very well, but I really had to work hard for the win.
“I won’t say he’s lazy, but he’s a horse you need to tell him to keep fighting. Nooresh’s horse gave a good fight, but at the 200m, I knew my horse was going better.”
Placais was bringing up his 29th winner for the season, cementing his fourth place on the Singapore jockeys’ premiership, 12 behind reigning champion jockey Vlad Duric.
The Frenchman has hit a purple patch of form, which coincided with the start of his fruitful association with trainer Hideyuki Takaoka, but he was also glad to team up successfully with other trainers like Peters, citing their similar age to explain the compatibility, among others.
“James and I are around the same age, we get along well, and he’s a good friend of mine. It’s great to ride a second winner for him this year, and also a second winner all-up for the Oscar Racing Stable as I also won on Mr Hopkins for the first time for them a few weeks ago,” said Placais.
“I’m very happy with the way things are going. I’ve been riding winners almost every weekend for nearly two months now.
“I hope the wave will go on for a long time to come.”
A winner of the Group 3 Juvenile Championship (1400m) as a two-year-old, Mr Hanks has now boosted his prizemoney total closer to the $240,000 mark for the Oscar Racing Stable.