Well Done
Singapore Turf Club
Local trainer David Kok described Well Done's (NZ) (Falkirk) win in Sunday's $500,000 Group 1 Patron's Bowl (1600m) as "the best day in his trainer's career".
"I've long aimed him towards the Derby. We knew the first Leg (Stewards' Cup over 1400m) was too short for him and the plan was always to target the Patron's Bowl and the Derby.
"To be honest, I thought the Patron's Bowl would be an ideal prep run to the Derby but he's done better and won it.
"It's great for Jason who has been very patient with this horse. He hand-picked this horse himself at the sale when he himself was only learning about horse ownership, and though the beginning was tough, he was very patient and now he has a Group 1 winner."
Kok did not fail to highlight the major contribution of one man who seems to be cutting a swathe since his arrival at the end of March – jockey Glen Boss, whom he already combined earlier with Conilad's win.
"Glen called me for the ride. Manoel Nunes (previous regular partner) was committed to Titanium and we had to get a strong rider and you can't get any better than Bossy," said Kok, clearly now one of the No 1 fans of the 2010 Longines Singapore Gold Cup-winning rider (Risky Business).
"It was the perfect ride from Glen. He really is a top jockey."
The triple Melbourne Cup-winning rider, who already had his name up in lights at the last Group 1 race, the Queen Elizabeth II Cup with Laughing Gravy, said he knew right away who he wanted to ride in the Patron's Bowl and eventually the Group 1 Emirates Singapore Derby (2000m), the third and final Leg of the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge, on July 10.
"I've watched his races and I knew I had to get him on the inside as he's a horse who does his best when you get him to hold his spot on the rails.
"He's a bit of a thinking horse but he was happy where he was, and I was very confident during the race even if we kept getting bashed on the rails the whole way. Another horse kept bumping into us.
"I thought he wouldn't be able to finish it off, but once he got the gap, he showed a nice turn of foot inside the 150m, and at that point, I knew he would win.
"It takes a good horse to do what he did and I think he will be a strong chance in the Derby."
The rest of the field had not reckoned with the superior finish of Well Done, who came with a well-timed run after Boss took the shortcuts home to pounce through a gap that appeared as Bring Money Home rolled out onto Mighty Warrior.
The Falkirk gelding pinned his ears back and attacked the line like his life depended on it, but then came Majestic Moments, who had in the meantime, extracted himself from the predicament he was in at the rear to unwind a blinding run on the outside. For a second, it looked like Patrick Shaw's consistent gelding would deny Well Done, but that easier run in transit for Kok's warrior probably made the difference in the end.
Well Done scored by a neck from Majestic Moments with Believe Yourself (Alan Munro) flashing home late for third another three-quarter length away. The winning time was 1min 34.9secs for the 1600m on the Long Course.
With that sixth win, Well Done has now taken his record to six wins and five placings from 16 starts for stakes earnings that have now shot past the half-a-million mark for Goh. - STC
"I've long aimed him towards the Derby. We knew the first Leg (Stewards' Cup over 1400m) was too short for him and the plan was always to target the Patron's Bowl and the Derby.
"To be honest, I thought the Patron's Bowl would be an ideal prep run to the Derby but he's done better and won it.
"It's great for Jason who has been very patient with this horse. He hand-picked this horse himself at the sale when he himself was only learning about horse ownership, and though the beginning was tough, he was very patient and now he has a Group 1 winner."
Kok did not fail to highlight the major contribution of one man who seems to be cutting a swathe since his arrival at the end of March – jockey Glen Boss, whom he already combined earlier with Conilad's win.
"Glen called me for the ride. Manoel Nunes (previous regular partner) was committed to Titanium and we had to get a strong rider and you can't get any better than Bossy," said Kok, clearly now one of the No 1 fans of the 2010 Longines Singapore Gold Cup-winning rider (Risky Business).
"It was the perfect ride from Glen. He really is a top jockey."
The triple Melbourne Cup-winning rider, who already had his name up in lights at the last Group 1 race, the Queen Elizabeth II Cup with Laughing Gravy, said he knew right away who he wanted to ride in the Patron's Bowl and eventually the Group 1 Emirates Singapore Derby (2000m), the third and final Leg of the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge, on July 10.
"I've watched his races and I knew I had to get him on the inside as he's a horse who does his best when you get him to hold his spot on the rails.
"He's a bit of a thinking horse but he was happy where he was, and I was very confident during the race even if we kept getting bashed on the rails the whole way. Another horse kept bumping into us.
"I thought he wouldn't be able to finish it off, but once he got the gap, he showed a nice turn of foot inside the 150m, and at that point, I knew he would win.
"It takes a good horse to do what he did and I think he will be a strong chance in the Derby."
The rest of the field had not reckoned with the superior finish of Well Done, who came with a well-timed run after Boss took the shortcuts home to pounce through a gap that appeared as Bring Money Home rolled out onto Mighty Warrior.
The Falkirk gelding pinned his ears back and attacked the line like his life depended on it, but then came Majestic Moments, who had in the meantime, extracted himself from the predicament he was in at the rear to unwind a blinding run on the outside. For a second, it looked like Patrick Shaw's consistent gelding would deny Well Done, but that easier run in transit for Kok's warrior probably made the difference in the end.
Well Done scored by a neck from Majestic Moments with Believe Yourself (Alan Munro) flashing home late for third another three-quarter length away. The winning time was 1min 34.9secs for the 1600m on the Long Course.
With that sixth win, Well Done has now taken his record to six wins and five placings from 16 starts for stakes earnings that have now shot past the half-a-million mark for Goh. - STC