Champion galloper War Affair has again come up short in his bid to win first-up, and it was Magneto who foiled his plans this time to take out the $200,000.
At his comeback race in February, War Affair ran second to Emperor Max, but he then went on to complete a clean sweep of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge. Trainer Alwin Tan tipped him out after the Singapore Guineas win and brought him back for Sunday’s race, and even though his fitness level was deemed superior this time around, he again found one better.
But Magneto is no slouch and to run 3 ½ lengths second to him in record time – 1min 33.28secs, which is 0.41 second better than War Affair’s own record established in the Singapore Guineas – certainly puts things in a glowing perspective for both the winner and runner-up.
Winning trainer Patrick Shaw and jockey Nooresh Juglall, who was incidentally at his maiden Singapore feature success at his 20th win, certainly deserve every accolade for the well-laid coup. They had the weaponry, they were up against the might of a champion horse, but they dared and they got the spoils.
Magneto, an Argentinian-bred four-year-old entire by Footstepsinthesand, was reproducing the same all-the-way tactics used at his last-start win recorded with John Powell in a 1400m race two weeks ago. With the 50.5kg allotted in Sunday’s handicap race, Juglall got the nod and did not let his chance slip away.
“As Magneto has a lovely cruising speed, the plan was to make War Affair run. He was at his first race, but still the horse to beat and it’s paid off,” said Juglall.
“Fitness-wise, my horse was better off, and War Affair could not quite keep up with him. I kept looking for him in the race and I was surprised he was not there.
“Thank God, it’s worked out in the end. I would like to thank Mr Shaw for giving me the opportunity to win my first Group race in Singapore.
“It’s all thanks to the hard work put in by the team, Ricardo Le Grange and Jacci de Tert.”
Shaw has earmarked the Group 1 Panasonic Kranji Mile (1600m) on October 5 as the Avengers Stable’s galloper’s main goal this prep, ruling out any loftier targets beyond that distance.
“He’s a mile horse. I wouldn’t put him beyond anything further at this stage and that’s why I will stick to just the Kranji Mile for him,” said the South African conditioner.
“After his last run and listening to what John Powell told me he can easily go up to a mile, I made up my mind of running him in the Committee’s Prize. He’s done very well to get away from War Affair the way he did.
“John told me he is a horse who once you rev him up from the 600m, he just picks up the bit and keeps going.”
That is exactly the script the Committee’s Prize followed from the get-go. Jumping the smartest, Magneto dashed to the lead upon dispatch and dictated terms from that point onwards.
War Affair (Danny Beasley) clapped on the speed to stay within striking distance, with only City Lad (Tengku Rehaizat) following suit, while the rest of the field were a distance away.
Juglall gradually upped the ante from the 800m and before they knew it, Magneto had suddenly slid away to a three-length break in the twinkling of the eye. Trouble was in the air in the champion’s camp as Beasley was seen getting busy, but War Affair was increasingly giving the impression he had been caught on the backfoot.
He did muster a counter-attack at the top of the straight, but it was to no avail as Magneto kept careering away to a most emphatic 3 ½-length victory from War Affair, who had not lost any admirers despite the defeat.
City Lad ran a meritorious third another 2 ¾ lengths away, a clear sign backmarkers had been run off their feet by the blinding speed upfront.
In only four Kranji starts, Magneto has already scored two wins and two placings for stakes earnings fast approaching the $200,000 mark.
