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The race promised plenty and did not disappoint when arguably the best horse in the $70,000 Class 3 race over 1600m, Circuit Mission, beat home the most promising horse in Relentless on Saturday.

It was the latter that started favourite ($13) under leading jockey Manoel Nunes with winning form over the mile coming into this race but given Relentless was up from Class 4, it was always going to be a test against the likes of Circuit Mission  (Marc Lerner, $17), whose last start was in the Group 1 Kranji Mile (1600m).

Yes, the High Chaparral seven-year-old finished last on that occasion, but it was not smooth-sailing in transit in the $1 million feature race and prior to that, he ran second to the then unbeaten Lim's Kosciuszko, also over a mile in Kranji Stakes A company.

Winning trainer James Peters – who led in an earlier winner with Mandrake (Iskandar Rosman, $29) in the $50,000 Class 4 race over 1400m – explained.

"Yes, he didn't have much luck in the straight in the Kranji Mile," said the dapper English handler.

"But (jockey) Jake (Bayliss) didn't knock him about much and he pulled up really well after the race and this (race) looked like the perfect opportunity for him.

"We got a good barrier (no. 2), there was always going to be speed (in the race) and we got the beautiful trail in behind the two leaders and it worked out perfectly."

With that early pace injected into the race by Red Ocean  (Bayliss) and last-start winner over the 1400m, Sky Eye  (Jeryln Seow), it was the perfect race from go to whoa, which was a welcome change of luck for Lerner, who hurt his arm earlier in the day when the Hideyuki Takaoka-trained Quadcopter got up to his old tricks in the barriers in the $50,000 Class 4 Division 2 race (1400m).

"Yeah, I had a bit of a pain in my arm from the barrier incident but James gave me a lot of confidence in the paddock," said the likeable Frenchman.

"It was a very nice race for him today. It was set up for him, really nice. We had a good pace, everything opened up when we wanted, and he fought hard. I'm really happy."

Going forward, both trainer and jockey were bullish with Peters having the last say on a long-term goal.

"His form has really improved this year. We may try him over 1800m and 2000m and maybe sneak into the (Group 1 Singapore) Gold Cup with a lightweight."

Derby in Relentless' sights

Often in racing, you do not need to win a race to be happy. With bigger fish to fry later in the season, you would imagine the Arexevan-Relentless Stable and trainer Tim Fitzsimmons would be more than satisfied with their Derby hopeful.

"I thought it was a fantastic run," said Fitzsimmons from the Champagne Room after Buuraq, also ridden by Nunes, won the very next race in the $30,000 Class 5 race over 1200m.

"Manoel said that as he jumped, he got smashed from the outside and he lost three lengths. He had to take hold and go again.

"He said that if he jumped cleaner or drew a gate, he would have gone closer.

"But in saying that, I still couldn't be happier with the effort and it was the perfect run heading into the four-year-old races."

Tiger Roar says: "hold my beer!"

If connections of Relentless were happy with his run heading into the Group 2 Stewards' Cup (1600m) on June 26 and the Group 1 Singapore Derby (1800m) on July 17, then the Falcon Racing No. 7 Stable and trainer Michael Clements would be over the moon with Tiger Roar 's ($11) first-up win.

The Wandjina four-year-old – with Nunes up - was having his first start since August last year in the $70,000 Class 3 race over 1200m. While there were some anxious moments in the straight for the Group 3 Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint (1200m) winner, he won like a very good horse.

"It's great to see him come back in form," said Clements.

"He's a horse who has a lot of ability and has done very well. We've taken our time with him as he had an injury, so we have given him all the time he needed and it's really paid off.

"It looked like he was making hard work of it at about the 200m mark, but he had a great turn of foot and he was running away from them.

"A great result!"

Nunes always has decisions to make leading into any Group race but you would imagine the Brazilian ace would be licking his lips with what he saw with Relentless and Tiger Roar on Saturday.

800th Singapore winner and counting for Burridge

Trainer Steven Burridge started in the racing game as a 14-year-old apprentice jockey way back in the 1970s in Australia.

You have the feeling that when mucking out the stables as a teenager in the cold winter mornings in Victoria, to leading in his 800th winner as a trainer – in Singapore of all places – would have been the stuff of dreams.

But when Spilt Second won the $30,000 Class 5 race over 1800m, Burridge reached the milestone and the hardworking Australian now only sits third behind Laurie Laxon (1263 wins) and Pat Shaw (830 wins) – both Singapore royalty – on the all-time training tables.

"Pretty good," said the justifiably proud trainer when asked how he felt by racing presenter Scott Bailey after the win.

"You know (to be) behind two great trainers, it was lovely, specially for the boys that own him – Julie (Barnicott, wife) – great for her too."

Apart from this latest landmark in his stellar training career, Burridge also met Her Majesty, the Queen Elizabeth II when the aptly-named King and King, ridden by then-jockey and current Kranji trainer Richard Lim, won the race named in her honour in 2006.

He was also crowned the Singapore champion trainer back in 2010, the same year he won the Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup with Risky Business and Glen Boss in the saddle.

Well-done Mr Burridge!

Worthy mentions elsewhere on the card

It was tough for punters early on the card but those that followed popular jockey Saifudin Ismail after his riding double last Saturday were rewarded when Super Extreme ($283) won the $20,000 Maiden race over 1200m.

In fact, punters (and Nunes' followers) had to wait for race 8 where he got the $13 favourite Buuraq over the line, but the leading hoop took no time to make it a treble with Split Second and Tiger Roar.

Earlier in the day, jockey Troy See made a winning return to Singapore at his very first ride when Crown Gift ($64) won the $30,000 Class 5 race over 1100m and trainer Alwin Tan led in a double with Super Extreme and Atlantean ($52) in the $30,000 Class 5 Division 2 race over 1200m.

But it was the astute Peters who added Dr Kardo (Oscar Chavez, $115) to his list of winners to make it a treble in the $50,000 Class 4 race over 1100m and took home training bragging rights.