A firmer track and a rise in distance paved the way to success for Mr Gee in the $55,000 Class 4 Stakes over 1400m on Friday night.
Photo by Racing and Sports
Ridden by South African rider Greg Cheyne, Mr Gee scored a short-head win over Affirmation (Koh Teck Huat) with Danny (Joao Moreira) two-and-a-quarter lengths away third.
Just a week earlier Mr Gee had lined-up in a 1200m Class 4 on a yielding track but was a beaten horse 50m after the start before finishing in eighth position.
But with fine weather and no rain in the lead-up to racing on Friday night Mr Gee appreciated the firmer conditions.
Mr Gee tracked the speed in fifth position that was set by Movie Goer (Zawari Razali) and Affirmation. On the point of the turn Affirmation kicked clear but Cheyne had moved Mr Gee into a prominent position and was ready to strike.
Over the final 200m the pair settled down to fight out the finish with a cool, cleverly judged ride by Cheyne getting the gelding home narrowly.
“He didn't have a lot of things go his way last week,” said trainer Stephen Gray.
“It was the last race of the night, the track was too soft and he was slow out of the barriers.
“We decided to back him up straight away and we were hoping for the weather to stay fine.
“Even though he's bred to handle the wet he just doesn't like the soft ground at all.”
Gray said it was disappointing that Mr Gee didn't handle the conditions last week as some of the gelding's connections from Australia were in Singapore last weekend.
“He just didn't go a yard in the ground last week which was disappointing for the connections,” said Gray.
“They are a group of great guys and they have a horse that goes well but has had a few issues.
“The jockey (Alan Munro) got off him last week and said to just forget he ran as he wasn't at all comfortable in the ground.
“Unfortunately he (Munro) couldn't make the weight tonight but we got a good replacement and he wasn't hard on the horse in the final stages.”
Mr Gee had spent more than 12 months out of the winner's circle and connections were certainly glad to see a change of fortune.
A four-year-old by Noverre from the Selkirk mare Guidance, Mr Gee was having just his tenth race start on Friday night, registering his second win with a further three minor placings and took his prizemoney to around $90,000 for the Whiz Bang Stable.
The night got even better for Gray when he went on to saddle a winning treble. The second leg came courtesy of Joyful Melody (Alan Munro) who held off a late charge from Tai Commands (Koh Teck Huat) to win the $35,000 Maiden Stakes over 1400m before April's Knight (Olivier Placais) gained victory at the very next race in the $35,000 Class 5 race over 2000m.
With the big haul, the New Zealander leaps to sixth place on the Singapore trainer's championship on nine wins, six wins in arrears of current leader Leslie Khoo.
