Trainer Mark Walker lauded the ride of his former apprentice jockey Shafiq Rizuan after Keen Dragon just got the nod in the $60,000 Class 4 Division 2 race over 1200m on Friday.
The Hidden Dragon five-year-old normally drops back but the pedestrian pace set by Kif Toh on Kazuo upfront left the former two-time Singapore champion apprentice jockey with no other option but to leave the ruck astern.
Shafiq just dropped anchor once he was able to match motors with the Michael Clements-trained galloper, but was soon joined by Vlad Duric, who just like Shafiq, was not happy with the crawling pace, and whipped Rusty Brown around to form a line of three as they went around the circle.
But when Kazuo kicked again hard against the rails, it looked like canter-sprint ploy would pay off after all. Rusty Brown could not quite go on with the job, but Keen Dragon had a last roll of the dice.
The margin kept getting whittled down with every stride and it would have taken someone with bionic eyes to have called the winner on the line. With the naked eye, it looked like a dead-heat when Kazuo lunged right down on the line but it was Keen Dragon on the outside who won the bob by a nose.
“There was no speed in the race and Shafiq rode a smart race. Normally this horse gets back, but Shafiq made the right decision to go forward when he realised there was no speed,” said Walker.
“They were wide throughout but the horse never gave up.”
Though Shafiq often rides for Walker, the Malaysian jockey was at his first ride aboard Keen Dragon, which was actually a pick-up ride after Manoel Nunes was stood down.
“The horse jumped so quick that I had no choice but to go forward,” said Shafiq.
“The other horse was always in front but my horse was always making ground on him. I knew I got him on the line.”
Keen Dragon ($44) has now registered four wins and six placings from 20 starts for stakes earnings closing in on the $200,000 mark for the Magus Equine Stable.
