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Joe Singh’s first Australian winner Gingerella made a successful start to her new Singapore career on Sunday.
The daughter of Singh’s very first good horse Gingerbread Man gave the Singaporean owner his first taste of an overseas win in a Maiden race at Bunbury, Western Australia on December 6, 2017.
After enjoying success with the likes of Gingerbread Man and Countofmontecristo at Kranji, Singh has recently started to race horses in Australia, mainly Perth and Sydney.
While some stay there right through, Gingerella along with Bahama Mama are among those who are brought over to Singapore to complete their careers.
And what a flying start it was for the four-year-old mare in the $75,000 Novice race over 1200m.
Sent to the lead for two-time Singapore champion jockey Vlad Duric, Gingerella ($14) was, however, never given much respite from Fame Star (Michael Rodd) and David’s Star (Salim Yusoff) who tagged along at the head of affairs.
In the straight, Gingerella kicked clear for what seemed like a knock-out blow to her rivals, but the Long Course looked decidedly long as Fame Star came chipping away at the margin.
John O’Hara’s US-bred managed to pull some ground off but Gingerella held sway gamely with half-a-length to spare. The well-backed Gentlemen Agreement (John Sundradas) plugged on well but could only take third place another 2 ¼ lengths away. The winning time was 1min 10.76secs for the 1200m.
“On her trial form, she would probably be better off in a 1000m race. The 1200m was a bit of an ask, but she was a one-time winner in Perth and she came through with flying colours,” said Michael Clements who is Singh’s principal trainer at Kranji.
“I haven’t had her for long but she was pretty impressive today. I think she’s got a future here.”
Duric said from the low draw, it would have been unwise not to make the most of it, but added that Gingerella was not necessarily a speedy customer who must dictate at all costs.
“I was quite bullish as she is quite a brilliant filly. The 1200m was a bit testing first-up, but she did a good job,” said the Australian jockey.
“I think leading is not the only quality to her repertoire. She can relax and sit off another horse.
“The plan was to make good use of her good draw. I gave her a rev-up in the first 100m just to control that spot.
“She came back nicely for me. She got a bit tired as it’s a 1200m race, but she toughed it out well.”