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Debut winner Benbo a second gem for JHI Stable

3 minute read

Relative new outfit JHI Stable welcomed their second debut winner Benbo in the $20,000 Open Maiden race (1200m) on Saturday.

BENBO winning the OPEN MAIDEN
BENBO winning the OPEN MAIDEN Picture: Singapore Turf Club

The group of Singaporean and Malaysian owners claimed their first win with Bluejay after he swooped down the straight to score in a Restricted Maiden race (1400m) last Sunday.

Both winners were among nine US-breds bought by the new owners at the Ocala online sales last year for trainer Alwin Tan.

Tan sent out a three-pronged attack on Saturday that included two other young colts, Ahone and Ari, but was of the opinion that Benbo was the more forward one among the trio.

"I wanted to win this (race), and among the three, I was more confident in Benbo," said the Singaporean handler, who bagged a double with Bizar Wins  ($39) in the $30,000 Class 5 race (1100m) in the opener.

"I was actually more hopeful of this one (Benbo) than Bluejay, and he did not disappoint me in the end.

"He (Benbo) showed me at both his trials (ran first and second on January 19 and 31 respectively) that he ran well.

"I will discuss with the jockey (Koh Teck Huat) to see if we should step him up to a 1400m race next. If all goes well, then we can consider the 3YO races for him too.

"The owners supported me with many horses (nine bought from Ocala sales), so I also want to repay them with a win.

"Because of (what happened) to horse no. 4 (Magdalene), I was concerned at the turn, but (jockey) TH (Teck Huat) Koh rode him very well."

Tan was referring to the nasty fall that took place about 400m into the race.

Then, the mare Magdalene  (Ibrahim Mamat) was jostling for position behind leader Star Glory  (Louis-Philippe Beuzelin) when she accidentally clipped heels and fell, sending trainer Michael Clements' apprentice jockey tumbling to the ground.

Benbo , who was parked on her inside, veered inwards for a moment but the three-year-old son of Midshipman soon regained his momentum at the bend.

Turning for home, Benbo was set alight by Koh before gradually gaining ascendancy over Star Glory, winning by one-and-a-half lengths at the post.

Debutant Gemilang (A'Isisuhairi Kasim) ran another two lengths behind in third, denying $10 favourite Healthy Baby (Manoel Nunes) of a podium finish.

Well-supported on the tote at $27, Benbo ran 1 min 12.12secs for the 1200m on the Polytrack.

Ibrahim was stood down from his remaining two rides, Vittoria Perfetta and Prodigal, after the race and sent to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital immediately for further checks.

Meanwhile, first-time partner Koh said Benbo recovered quickly from that freak accident in the race.

"He found his balance back after a while and travelled very well from then on," said the baby-faced rider of his fifth win of the season.

"I'm riding him for the first time but I think he can go further."

The Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge series, which was brought back this year, is made up of the Group 3 Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint (1200m) on April 8, the Group 2 Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic (1400m) on April 29 and the Group 2 Singapore Guineas (1600m) on May 20.

With that first win, Benbo has earned more than $10,000 in prizemoney, close to recouping his cost price of US$13,000 for connections.


Singapore Turf Club

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