3 minute read

Major King stamped himself as a horse with a big future in feature sprints in Singapore after he lumped 58.5kgs to win the $70,000 Class 3 race over 1200m on the Polytrack on Saturday.

The big weight did not deter punters who sent the five-year-old son of I Am Invincible off as the $8 hot favourite. Gold Ten Sixty-One ($28) and stablemate Akhtar ($62), who carried 57.5kgs and 51.5kgs respectively, were also in the market. The three runners ran against each other previously in another Class 3 race over 1000m on July 30, which was won by Major King in the end.

However, Major King only carried only one kilo more than Akhtar and three kilos less than Gold Ten Sixty-One when he won comfortably by over five lengths, so the swing in weights on Saturday made it a fascinating race on paper, with all eyes on the trio as they headed to the start.

There was a bit of drama and slight delay to the race when Red Ocean (Matthew Kellady) broke through the barriers prematurely, albeit he was subsequently passed fit to race. Akhtar (Zyrul Nor Azman) then had to be taken out of the starting stalls and reloaded.

But on jumping, Zyrul had Akhtar leading early from barrier one, while jockey Bruno Queiroz had Gold Ten Sixty-One close by and Sacred Gift (Iskandar Rosman) settled in third on his outside.

Meanwhile, jockey Manoel Nunes was mindful of the big weight Major King had on him, so he slotted him perfectly behind the leading trio with cover. With Akhtar setting a decent clip up front, Major King had every chance upon turning for home.

Zyrul made full use of Akhtar's light weight and kicked home early into the straight to lead by a length, but Gold Ten Sixty-One looked to be making inroads before levelling up at the 250m.

Nunes also made his move and while Queiroz would have been confident that he had enough under his belt - with the pull-in-weights a factor - to hold off the challenge, Major King was still grinding away, albeit a length behind at the 150m.

Under hard riding, Major King slowly made up ground on the two leaders  – Akhtar was still fighting tooth and nail – before taking over in the shadows of the post to win by half-a-length on the line over a game Gold Ten Sixty-One.

Akhtar faded close home to finish one-and-three-quarter lengths behind the winner, but he held on for third by a nose over the fast-finishing Pacific Warrior (Wong Chin Chuen).

The winning time was 1 min 10.72secs for the 1200m on the Polytrack and Major King's fifth win in Singapore took his prizemoney to close to $200,000 for the Happy Baby Stable.

Winning trainer Jason Ong was concerned by the top impost before the race, but was more than happy with the run of both his horses.

"That went according to plan," said Ong, who – with Nunes - knocked in a double on the day with Engine Start ($15) in the $50,000 Class 4 race over 1600m five races earlier.

"From gate one, we knew Akhtar had the pace to lead but Manoel did a great job early to relax Major King in a handy position.

"That was very important given the big weight he had to carry and when he relaxed in the running, I knew he (Major King) would have the kick at the end.

"So did (trainer) Tim's (Fitzsimmons) horse (Gold Ten Sixty-One) too and I was worried at the last furlong. I was also watching out for Akhtar too, so I didn't know where to look.

"I respect Gold Ten Sixty-One a lot, so to carry 58.5kgs and win was very pleasing."

Going forward, Ong suggested his two horses could go in completely different directions.

"I think Major King  has shown he deserves a crack at a race like the (Group 3) Merlion Trophy (1200m) on the Polytrack," explained Ong, who now sits five clear on the trainers' premiership with 40 winners.

"He's in form, loves the surface and we can set him for that race.

"But with Akhtar, we may look at getting him over longer. He won his maiden (race) in Australia over 1400m (on September 29, 2021), so we thought he could get over the mile here.

"He can stay in Class 3 races with a light weight and we will look at options with distance."

The second running of the Merlion Trophy will take place on October 28 after Lim's Kosciuszko won the same Polytrack sprint feature on February 4 this year.

Nunes was also worried about the weight in the good Class 3 field, but when he found the back of Gold Ten Sixty-One early, his fears were quickly allayed.

"I thought the weight might be an issue but when I had Bruno's back, I knew we would be hard to beat," said the four-time Singapore champion jockey.

"So, I just tracked Gold Ten Sixty-One and didn't have to make my move earlier than needed.

"When I pulled him out, I gave him two on the left and he responded. And when I gave him two on the right and he responded again, I knew he would win.

"Jason had done a great job with him. He's such a nice horse with a big heart."