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Trainer Alwin Tan candidly admitted he had been too judgemental about Warspirit’s extra girth and was glad to be proven wrong when he saluted on Sunday.
Tan, a noted believer of horses’ body weights being a telltale sign of form, thought Warspirit ($90) was “too fat” to be a leading chance in the $60,000 Class 4 race (1000m), swaying – like the majority of racegoers – more towards his other runner Mighty Creation ($33).
Both actually put in a mighty effort, but it was the less-fancied half who won the war in a blanket finish, split by $12 money favourite Barnato (Nooresh Juglall), who finished second as the meat in the sandwich between the two Tan runners.
If a race had to be decided midrace, Tan would have probably punted his hard-earned down on Mighty Creation (Oscar Chavez), who was scraping paint midfield, albeit a little bustled up by his rider, while Warspirit (Tan Wei Li) looked in dire straits at the back, already under pressure three wide, with barely any cover (only Blue Diamond was wider in front of him).
Former top juvenile Barnato was not without his share of woes either. Jumping from an awkward alley, he had to be sooled early to take up a forward position, with Juglall obviously keen to lead, but with Tadhg O’Shea (still chasing that elusive first win at Kranji) not giving up on the coveted spot aboard Good Score, Barnato was left on a limb on the outside.
Swinging for home, Patrick Shaw’s game galloper struck the lead and for about 100m, looked like he could replicate his debut win, but Tan had in the meantime launched Warspirit on the warpath from the 600m while Mighty Creation was also joining the fray on the rails for an Alwin Tan double-barrelled attack on the hotpot.
A brave Barnato hung on for dear life, but eventually buckled under the relentless assault, doing well to only concede the first spot by a head to Warspirit on the outside, while holding off Mighty Creation into third another short head away on the fence. The winning time was 59.81 seconds.
“I thought Warspirit was too fat (559kgs from 549kgs). He’s put on so much weight, and I honestly thought Mighty Creation had a better chance,” said Tan.
“But it was very exciting to see both of them run so well, especially the winner, who at the age of seven is still performing so well.
“It’s true the drop in class was a big help, but it was still a pretty strong field he was up against.”
His apprentice jockey Tan (of no relation) was equally delighted he had finally managed to steer Warspirit back to the winner’s box, especially after coming up short at his last couple of starts. Tan has struck a solid rapport with the Very Stable (same connections who race Singapore Three-Year-Old champion War Affair) owned galloper, having now combined for his fourth win from 22 rides, which is exactly half of his 44 starts.
“We had luck today, the pace was not so fast, and I think that helped him today. He just could not quite get there with the fast pace last time,” said Tan.
“The pace was actually fast in the first 200m, but they slowed down afterwards. When the field started to drop back on me from the 600m, that’s when I knew we had a good winning chance.
“He was relaxed throughout and gave a nice kick in the straight. I’m happy to have won another race on this horse as I seem to get along well with him.”
