Japanese handler Hideyuki Takaoka’s tip to jockey Derreck David that Higher Soul hangs in badly when she goes wide turned out to be solid advice worth its weight of gold on Sunday afternoon.
Keeping the useful info at the back of his mind, the South African lightweight rider went in hoping the Japanese mare never goes around any horse in the $60,000 Class 4 race over 1800m, and his prayers were answered when the race panned out exactly the way he had wanted, not without having to make use of his vocal cords at the 200m, though.
Race-leader and favourite Satellite Prince (Nooresh Juglall) travelled at a steady tempo upfront turning into the home straight, but got the wobbles earlier than expected. The John O’Hara-trained galloper was lugging back in under pressure, just when Higher Soul was sneaking up right on his heels, vying for the passage along the fence.
Seeing the potential traffic hazard ahead, David yelled at Juglall, who luckily for him, made sure his horse held his line. Higher Soul ($85) was able to dart right through to go and record a one-length win from Precious Gem (Vlad Duric) with Lucky Justice (Glen Boss) third another neck away. The winning time was 1min 48.9secs for the 1800m on the Long Course.
“I wasn’t worried about the step-up in distance as she’s run second over 1800m before,” said Takaoka.
“She’s been running in good form lately. I just told Derreck to make sure she doesn’t come out wide as she will hang in badly.
“But from the good draw (2) today, she was in a good spot throughout and she ran on well along the rails.”
David said the Higher Game mare was in the zone but things looked a touch dicey when the weakening leader started to drift back in.
“Mr Takaoka’s instructions were very simple and very clear. Don’t come out wide with her,” said David.
“I just went with that plan in my head and from the good draw, things were looking good. I just had to shout at Nooresh as I improved along the rails and luckily, he did not come back right in or we would have lost the race.”
Higher Soul was recording her third win from 25 starts at Kranji for stakes earnings edging even closer to the $200,000 mark for the Big Valley Stable.
The win (15th this season) incidentally snapped a long run of outs for Takaoka, whose last win dates back to July 15 with Galaxy Express.
“We’ve had no winners for two months, and I’m glad this mare has won. We needed a bit of luck in the home straight and luck was on our side for once,” he said.
“This win will give my staff, my owners and myself a bit of encouragement for the rest of the season.”
