Kiwis Win Five in Singapore

Kiwi horses and Karaka graduates continued on their winning way in Singapore last night with five NZ gallopers claiming race wins.

New Zealand horses and Karaka graduates are having a brilliant season in Singapore having won over 50% of all black-type races so far this year with current stars Super Easy (Darci Brahma) and Chase Me (Storm Creek) among the list of top performers.

Ex-pat New Zealand trainer Mark Walker has played a big part in this success training the NZB sold Flying Fulton (Flying Spur) to two Singapore black-type wins this season.

Walker was amongst last night’s successes, claiming a winning double in the first two races on the card.

The first was with the kiwi bred Fastnet Rock gelding Affirmation (NZ) (Affirmed Lane) in the $35,000 Class 5 stakes (1200m). A $700,000 purchase by David Ellis from Pencarrow Stud at the 2008 Karaka Premier Sale, the six-year-old’s win was the third of his career for his owner the Te Akau Racing Stable. Stepping back from Class 4 suited the gelding ideally, securing a hard-fought victory.

“Dropping back to Class 5 class suited him today,” said Walker. “He had been racing well in Class 4 grade but he can be a bit unpredictable.”

Walker’s race double has taken his season tally to 24 wins, putting him in 12th place on Singapore’s trainers’ premiership.

Fellow kiwi trainer Laurie Laxon is also making moves on the Trainers’ Premiership and took his 48th win for the season with Devonshire (NZ) (Kashani Heights) in the $55,000 Class 4 stakes (1600m), keeping him within one win of current Premiership leader Stephen Burridge.

A five-year-old gelding by Bachelor Duke, Devonshirewas ridden by Singapore’s champion jockey Joao Moreira who took his winning tally to three from 13 starts for his owners New Zealand Bloodstock’s Mike Kneebone and Jim Bruford.

The only fillies’ race on the card, the $75,000 Open Benchmark 74 (1100m), was won by Makkura (NZ) (Falkirk x Electric Dream) who has made a great start to her career in Singapore.

Trained by John O'Hara, the five-year-old has now won three of her four starts and over $100,000 for her owners the Toast Trust No 27 & Stephen Crutchley Stable. A graduate of the 2009 Karaka Festival Sale, Makkura was purchased by Stephen Crutchley from Poseidon Bloodstock for $12,000.

Coffee Kid (NZ) (Black Minnaloushe x Mary Seton) delivered just his second career victory when he took out the $35,000 Class 5 Stakes (1200m) for his owner the Blue Diamond Stable.

The Tan Hai Wang trained five-year-old was a bargain $1,000 purchase from the 2009 Winter Mixed Bloodstock Sale at Karaka, the same Sale that sold this year’s Singapore Derby winner Chase Me.

The last race of the meeting, the $55,000 Class 4 Stakes (1200m) was won by the consistent galloper City Lad (NZ) (Elusive City x Snuff). Trained by Desmond Koh, the win was the four-year-old’s third from 13 starts.

Last night’s race was City Lad’s third start at a mile, his first coming in March where he ran a close second to tough galloper Super Guru (Ishiguru) and his last in the Sgp-1 Singapore Guineas where he was unplaced behind Super Easy.

City Lad was offered by Phoenix Park at New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2010 Ready to Run Sale of Two-Year-Olds and last night’s win took his stakes to just shy of $150,000.