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When trainer Cliff Brown saw that Lonhro Gold was having it easy upfront, he could sense an upset might be on the cards.
True enough, his Denman four-year-old was off and gone when he pinched a break upon straightening under Barend Vorster’s urgings.
Favourite Elite Power (Vlad Duric) ate into the margin with every stride, but half-a-length still separated him and the $81 longshot at the wire. King Of War (Daniel Moor) stayed on for third place another 1 ½ lengths away.
The winning time was a smart 58.82 seconds for the 1000m of the $70,000 Class 3 race.
With his two assistants Tim Fitzsimmons and Chris Bock by his side, Brown headed down for their third winner of the year.
“I told Tim and Chris that I thought there would be more pressure on him,” said Brown.
“But he got left alone and that’s what happens, that’s great.”
Lonhro Gold is raced by one of the Australian trainer’s most loyal supporters since he moved from Narbethong (Victoria) to Kranji in 2008, the Gold Stable of the Yong family.
“The Yong family gave me my first horse when I came up here. They’ve been long-suffering owners of mine and it’s good to get another winner for them tonight,” he said.
The yellow and red diamonds of the Gold Stable were back in the limelight two races later when Gold Strike (Michael Rodd, $26), also prepared by Brown, took out the last event, the $50,000 Class 4 Division 1 race over 1200m.
Even though Vorster was at his first association with Lonhro Gold, it looked like he had sussed him out to a tee from the way he rated him. The South African jockey, who is Australian-bound next month, said the key to the gelding’s Friday win was to just let him “enjoy himself” at the head of affairs.
“He was cruising when I just let him glide across. I told Cliffy how he was skipping clear but I just bided my time,” said the South African jockey.
“No-one hassled him and he really enjoyed himself up there. He was nice and balanced and he gave a very good kick in the home straight.”
With that fourth win, Lonhro Gold has seen his total earnings swell past the $185,000 mark for the Gold Stable.