3 minute read
The well-backed War Lord produced a lethal turn of foot to land his maiden victory in the $65,000 Initiation Division 2 race (1200m) on Sunday.
Photo by Singapore Turf Club
Placed only once in six previous starts when runner-up to Hellolo at his second-last start, the three-year-old colt by King Of Happiness, who was reunited with Joao Moreira who partnered him only once at his debut, held the rails from the start, matching motors with Princeton (Mohd Suhaimi) before putting the race away in the home straight.
Shipping Forecast (Steven King), who had all along trucked up right behind the pace, spotted an opportunity as the field fanned out, but could not find that extra kick, leaving War Lord to shoot clear and put the issue beyond doubt.
Ready Fortune (Shafiq Rizuan) ran on from midfield to finish second just under four lengths away with Shipping Forecast third another length away. The winning time was 1min 10.7secs.
Winning trainer Leticia Dragon said she had resisted the temptation of gelding the colt several times, and has not yet ruled out that possibility further down the road.
“He’s so immature and such a handful that I wanted to geld him so many times,” said Dragon. “But then I thought I’d leave him as a colt for a bit as it is a bit of a flip of a coin decision.
“Horses tend to lose their condition after a gelding operation and it takes a while for them to get back in shape. Eventually I may have to give him the dreaded snip, though.
“But I think he needs to have more racing under his belt anyway, and today I think the engagement of a senior rider (ridden by apprentices at last three runs) helped to nurse him to the line.
“I always thought he’s more of a turf horse and that’s why I had to space his runs as there weren’t many turf races for him.
“He really deserved to win today as he’s been putting in consistent runs and has been working well coming into today’s race.”
Moreira praised Dragon for the good work she has put in to bring the colt to his peak, though he believed the penny has not fully dropped yet.
“Leticia did a great job to get this horse on the right way. He’s still green and looking around a lot in his races, but he’s certainly not without ability,” said Moreira who was at an early race-to-race double having scored in the opening event aboard Risky Venture.
“He had a good run on the inside and was really enjoying being there. In the home straight, he sped up really well and I knew the others wouldn’t be able to catch him.
“I’ve never ridden him before, but I’ve always known he had ability. From the way he behaved today compared to before, I would say he’s at least five lengths better.”
War Lord races in the famous purple colours worn by Gingerbread Man, both owned by the syndication headed by Joe Singh.
