Faaltless Wins Second Garden City Trophy

Faaltless (Faltaat), who cost $65,000 and $160,000 in his two trips through the Karaka sale ring in 2012, took his prizemoney earnings past S$500,000 with a second win in the S$200,000 Listed Garden City Trophy (1200m) at Kranji on Sunday.

The seven-year-old gelding, who was having his first start in seven months after a number of setbacks, was sent straight to the front of the nine-horse field by rider Matthew Poon. He never gave his rivals a look-in, holding on powerfully to score by a length and a quarter.

It was win number seven from 23 starts for Faaltless, and his second victory in the Garden City Trophy – he won the sprint feature by two and a half lengths in 2014.

Trainer Shane Baertschiger took even more satisfaction the second time around.

“I’m very proud of the horse given the problems he had,” he said. “He had chips to his fetlock and we gave him four runs and he had chips to the other fetlock.

“We were wondering if we should go on and then we gave him time off. We changed his diet as he was a bit heavy, and today he was down to 498 kilograms which is only two kilos below his winning racing weight.

“He’s been a great horse to us. He has beaten horses like Zac Spirit and Emperor Max, and if not for his problems, he could have been anything.”

Faaltless was bred by Watson Bloodstock Ltd and is out of Circus Dance (NZ) (Carnegie) – a half-sister to the champion galloper and exciting young stallion So You Think (NZ) (High Chaparral).

He was offered by Westbury Stud at the 2012 Select Sale, where former Cambridge trainer Trent Busuttin bought him for $65,000. He returned to Karaka for the Ready to Run Sale in the draft of Clunbury Stables Ltd, where Baertschiger bought him for $160,000.