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The race promised plenty and duly delivered with the David Kok-trained Pacific Emperor winning a thrilling edition of the $110,000 Group 3 Merlion Trophy (1200m) on Saturday.
Heading to the 1200m start on the Polytrack, the top-rated Super Salute was sent out as the $9 favourite, while punters kept Pacific Emperor well in their thoughts as the second-elect at $15.
Upon jumping, jockey Manoel Nunes got the favourite out of the gates with few issues but from the no.10 outside barrier, Super Salute was caught wide early, albeit with some cover in a midfield position.
Meanwhile, jockey Wong Chin Chuen had to work on Pacific Emperor from barrier five to hold a spot just inside of Super Salute into the first bend while General Command (Koh Teck Huat) led on the rails. Meanwhile, Illustrious (Mohd Zaki) and Gold Ten Sixty-One (A'Isisuhairi Kasim) sat outside the leader, with the latter three-wide in the run.
It was on turning for home when Wong made the most of his good position on Pacific Emperor to have his first crack on the leaders - arguably the winning move given Nunes was pushed wide on Super Salute and hence lost a length to his biggest danger.
While Super Salute made up ground in a matter of strides to make it a two-horse battle from the 300m, Pacific Emperor fought hard to hold onto a slight advantage over the last furlong. Super Salute tried hard under hard riding from Nunes, but they could not bridge the small gap late.
Just when it looked like Pacific Emperor and Super Salute was about to claim the top two prizes, Major King grew wings under jockey Bruno Queiroz to split the pair on the wire, with the official margin a nose and a short head between the trio.
The winning time was 1 min 12.15secs for the 1200m on the Polytrack. Pacific Emperor's sixth win from eight starts in Singapore – and his first at Group level – took his prizemoney to over $270,000 for the Pacific Stable.
Kok, who also saluted with Win Win ($89) in the $50,000 Tuxedo Moon 2011 Stakes (1100m) later, had waited for five years for another Group win since his last victory in the Group 3 New Year Cup (1200m) with Speedy Dragon in 2018. The Singaporean handler was ecstatic about winning a Group race for the Pacific Stable, and while it could be a tough ask for the Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup (2000m) nominee, Pacific Emperor might still run in the third Leg of the Singapore Triple Crown series on 11 November.
"Let's see how he pulls up before making decisions, but the owners are keen," said Kok about the Singapore Gold Cup tilt.
"I knew he would run well today. The field lacked some depth for a Group race and Super Salute looked the horse we had to beat at the level weights.
"But he worked well, had beaten him (Super Salute) before and my horse is more than honest.
"It was great race. To be honest, I didn't know we had won till I saw the photo finish. It was so close.
"I have to thank the owners. I really wanted to win a Group race for them as they had invested so much money into good horses like Pacific Emperor. They deserved this.
"My staff had been incredible too. It's been five years or so since our last big win, so it's good for the stable."
Wong – who won the first edition of the 2023 Merlion Trophy on Lim's Kosciuszko in February – was impressed the promising Pacific Emperor.
"It's his (Pacific Emperor) first time running under the weight-for-age conditions," said Wong to racing presenter Raymond Yong after the race.
"So we can't be over confident against some experienced horses, but he's a nice horse, still progressing. He was always showing improvement after every race.
"Today, back on the Poly(track), he was under a bit of pressure at the 600m when he raced between horses as he had never been boxed (in) before.
"So, to ask him to go through the gaps, he did very well today and you can see he has improved again and is braver now.
"When we got him out to the clear, he was back to his normal (self) and just kept going."
When asked about a possible Gold Cup run, Wong was cautious given the trip would be a test.
"That is a question mark as it's definitely a big ask for him," explained Wong, who also won earlier on Galaxy Bar ($11) in the $30,000 Lim's Kosciuszko 2023 Stakes, a Class 5 race (1400m) in the opener.
"But this is a smart horse and nobody knows whether he will handle the 2000m but himself. Character-wise, you can ride him wherever you want.
"He can be switched off, which is good and we'll see how he goes from there."
