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Super Smart handed jockey Benny Woodworth a belated wedding present after he scored a fighting win in the $75,000 Restricted Maiden race over 1000m on Sunday.
The 45-year-old Malaysian tied the knot with his partner Andrianna in Johor Bahru on Wednesday night at a wedding reception attended by the racing fraternity on both sides of the Causeway, including Super Smart’s trainer Young Keah Yong.
“That’s my wedding gift to Benny!” said Young.
Woodworth, who was at his second marriage, could not have hoped for a better way to cap a busy week during which he hosted friends and relatives from Malaysia and Mauritius where he met his future wife, a former racing journalist, at one of his many riding stints on the Indian Ocean island.
“I couldn’t ride a winner on Friday, but I’m glad I’ve got one today,” said Woodworth.
“I rode this horse at his last start (second to Winning Hobby) and we expected him to run well today.
“Troy’s (See) horse (Lim’s Dream) was harder to catch than I thought, but my horse closed in gradually.”
The Big Brown three-year-old indeed gave some concerns to connections and those who backed him down to $9 when the three-length gap between him and leader Lim’s Dream was not narrowing down as quickly as anticipated in the home straight.
But Woodworth was a man riding with the extra inspiration of a new groom. Super Smart kept chipping away at the margin to eventually wear Lim’s Dream down by a neck.
Such was the superiority of the first two that the third-placed runner, debutant Mr Fat Kiddy (Mark Ewe) was some distance away – more than five lengths. The winning time was 59.59 seconds for the 1000m on Polytrack.
To Young, the hard-fought win might suggest Super Smart, who was runner-up at his two previous Kranji runs (1000m as well on debut), might be looking for more ground than 1000m.
“He’s still a bit green and unsettled, but we expected him to run well from his two very good runs,” said Young.
“From the wide draw (10), he had to go forward and race handy. Benny had him in a good spot throughout.
“I won’t rush him. From the way he ran today, I think I’ll put him back on 1200m and even 1400m one day.”
Super Smart was bringing up a race-to-race double for the Singaporean handler who also snared the first race, the $30,000 Class 5 race over 1000m with Hallelujah (Saifudin Ismail, $16).
“Hallelujah is just a Class 5 mare but it was good to get a second win out of her,” said Young.
The Burgundy four-year-old looked the goods when she hit the front inside the last 250m, but had to stave off a late charge from Present (Daniel Moor) to scrape home by a head. The winning time was 1min 0.6sec for the 1000m on Polytrack.