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The Steven Burridge-trained Ghalib added another string to his impressive bow after he won on the Polytrack for the first time in the $70,000 Class 3 race over 1200m on Sunday.
That impressive four-and-a-quarter length win suggested the four-year-old gelding has plenty more to offer on both tracks.
Sent out as the $13 favourite, the son of I Am Invincible jumped well from gate two and jockey Manoel Nunes was happy to settle on the flank of the grey speedster Illustrious (Vlad Duric), who led as expected.
Nunes was also keen to hold his position on the pace in clear air, after 10-year-old Countofmontecristo (Ibrahim Mamat) crossed from the wide gate 10 to make his intentions clear early.
Two other Donna Logan-trained contenders, $17 second favourite Knippenberg (Jamil Sarwi) and Stenmark (Benny Woodworth) also raced handy with cover, so the race looked an open affair on settling.
However on turning for home, Duric gave Illustrious some rein to get a two-length break on Ghalib and with a widening gap to the rest, a race in two beckoned.
When Illustrious hit the proverbial wall at the 250m, it quickly became a one-horse affair and Nunes only had to keep Ghalib on his game in the last furlong before easing down late to win by the big margin.
The gaps between the minor placegetters were tighter, with the multiple Group-winning Countofmontecristo turning back the clock to hold onto second place by a nose over the fast-finishing Dancing Light (Zyrul Nor Azman). Stenmark ran another two-and-a-half lengths back in fourth.
The winning time was 1 min 11.17secs for the 1200m on the Polytrack.
Nunes, who only added the one win on Sunday to his four-timer at last Saturday's opening meeting, praised Burridge for having Ghalib in tip-top condition.
"Steven (Burridge) had him in beautiful condition," said the now five-time Singapore champion jockey.
"He (Ghalib) looked fantastic in his coat and I think he has improved. There was a slight question mark on his Polytrack form but after his trial (won trial no 1 on 4 January in the time of 1 min 0.54secs.), I told Steven and the owners he would run well.
"After the scratching (of Emergency Acceptor No 1 Lim's Craft in barrier one), we jumped from gate two and I thought he would be hard to beat.
"I let (trainer) Tim's (Fitzsimmons) horse (Illustrious) go forward, but he had the top weight (59kgs) and I knew he would be vulnerable.
"I was travelling so well at the 300m and the horses behind me weren't a problem. When I pressed the button, the race was over. He won well eh?"
Of the upcoming Four-Year-Old races, Nunes thought the Group 3 Silver Bowl (1400m) on 9 June would be his best prospect, albeit Ghalib still had things to learn.
"Right now, I think he (Ghalib) is a sprinter," explained the Brazilian ace.
"He has won over 1400m (in a Class 3 race on 25 November), so the Silver Bowl is a race he can target.
"But he's still young, so if he learned to settle, the other races (the Group 2 Stewards' Cup over 1600m on 30 June and the Group 1 Singapore Derby over 1800m on 21 July) are something Steven can look at for sure."
Burridge agreed with Nunes that Ghalib was more of a sprinting type but was more than impressed with the win on Sunday.
"When a couple (Red Dot and Grand Avante) came out, it looked a winnable race but you couldn't ask for a more impressive showing," said the 2010 Singapore champion trainer of his first winner this year.
"He can be tardy, but when he jumped well, I was more than happy and it was a relatively easy watch.
"He (Ghalib) is built like a sprinter but we know he gets over 1400m, so we'll see what races are available with one eye on the Four-Year-Old races."
Ghalib's fourth win from eight starts in Singapore took his prizemoney to over $140,000 for the Al-Arabiya Stable.
