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Off the bridle for a long way, Top Knight looked a beaten horse at the top of the straight, but sheer class saw him put his head down where it mattered on Friday night.
Backers of the odds-on favourite were greeted to a worrying sight when the 11-horse field of the $80,000 Class 3 race cornered. Coming off a fairly handy spot in fifth, Top Knight was not travelling like a $8 shot, under an Olivier Placais who looked like he was left with just the kitchen sink to throw at him.
Upfront, the duelling pair of Galileo’s Approach (Craig Grylls) and Supernova (Zy Nor Azman) were within his sights, but the Zoustar three-year-old’s engine seemed to be taking a month of Sundays to kick in.
Placais’ hard graft in the saddle was not in vain, though. Slowly but surely, Top Knight wore down the leading pair.
Galileo’s Approach knocked up first, leaving only old stager (10yo) Supernova in the way. Surely he would be of no match to his rival’s younger legs, but Bruce Marsh’s veteran campaigner was in a mood for a good scrap.
If anything, he rallied again for a mighty ding-dong battle with Top Knight all the way down the straight. The issue could have gone either way, and it had to take all of Placais’ brute strength in the saddle to lift Top Knight home by a head, much to punters’ and trainer Michael Clements’ huge relief.
Galileo’s Approach was game in defeat, settling for third place another 1 ½ lengths away. The winning time was 1min 35.26secs for the 1600m on the Short Course.
“He had to work pretty hard tonight,” said Clements.
“It’s always a big jump for these three-year-olds to come from Class 4 to Class 3, but he was very gutsy in the way he put his head down on the line.
“The way he stayed on tells me he will go even further than that.
“He’s going for a freshen-up now and I will prepare him towards the 3YO series next year.”
The Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge is staged between March and May with the Group 3 Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint (1200m) kicking it off, followed by the Group 2 Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic (1400m) before ending with the Group 1 Singapore Guineas (1600m).
Placais had an explanation for the Falcon Racing No 7 Stable-owned gelding’s apparent sluggishness in the race.
“We waited for 10 minutes in the barriers, and I actually told Michael Rodd that my horse was completely asleep,” he said after Panache proved unruly behind the barriers and had to be scratched in the end.
“He’s a quiet horse. I had to get to work on him early, but he actually travelled okay.
“He gave me his full heart even if I asked him more strongly than usual. He really gave me his best. More distance will help him.”
Top Knight has now won three races and placed third once from five outings for prizemoney in excess of $125,000 for his Thai owners.