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Champion trainer Lee Freedman quinellaed the $70,000 Stepitup 2013 Stakes over 1400m with Circuit Mission and Little Big Man on Friday night.
After two promising runs, Irish-bred four-year-old Circuit Mission was unsurprisingly backed down to $14 favouritism in the Class 3 race, but had to first overcome a wide gate in 12, and stiff opposition at the business end.
Ridden by Glen Boss for the first time, the son of High Chaparral justified his odds with a supremely brave effort for a journey that was not without rest.
Caught wide and getting on the chewy early, the two-time UK winner was entitled to peter out when Boss called upon him at the top of the straight, but he just kept finding.
With race-leader Andado (Krisna Thangamani) quickly fading out and the rest not cutting much ice, the coast looked clear for Circuit Mission, but he had an unlikely foe in his own stablemate Little Big Man, who well handled by apprentice jockey Syahir Abdul, was mustering a fightback on the inside.
But Circuit Mission (owned by the same Hong Kong connections – Mr Ngo Tai Tak - as Freedman’s first Singapore Group winner Circuit Land in the 2018 Group 2 Chairman’s Trophy) always had the wood, albeit by a very skinny margin, all the way to the wire.
A neck split the Freedman duo in the end, with Baffert (Michael Rodd) third another length away. The winning time was 1min 22.75secs for the 1400m on the Short Course.
While Circuit Mission deserved praise for his bulldog qualities, his trainer was not getting too carried away with that local account opener.
“I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him. I haven’t got him right yet,” said Freedman.
“He overdid the job tonight, he was too keen. It was not a fast run race and he sat wide.
“It was great to combine with Bossy again. We’ve combined for many wins over the years.”
The two Australian Hall of Famers certainly share many memorable moments together when they ruled the roost back home, none more famous than two Melbourne Cups with Makybe Diva (2004 and 2005). Whether Circuit Mission scales to lofty heights remains to be seen, but for now, Boss had some wraps on the gelding known as Curiosity in England, but said he would be better off without blinkers.
“He had an awkward draw, but he got himself into a strong position,” said Boss.
“He was too good tonight and Lee has big plans for him. I think we should take the blinkers off him, though.”
A stakes winner of US$66,181 from his two wins at Newcastle (1200m) and Ascot (1400m) in England when prepared by Hugo Palmer, Circuit Mission has already chalked up close to $50,000 in prizemoney from his first win and a third place in three starts at his new hunting ground.
