Trainer Stephen Gray said it was still a long shot, but he may well have a fourth Singapore Gold Cup contender in Bahana following his gutsy win in the $100,000 Panasonic Solutions Stakes, an Open Benchmark 89 race over 2000m on Sunday.
The Kiwi handler already has Fastnet Dragon, Newlands and Squire Osbaldeston in the mix for the time-honoured race over 2200m on November 20, but can now add Bahana, even if he qualified he will have to run well in the Group 3 El Dorado Classic (2200m) on October 30 to show if he was really deserving of a shot.
“He had a light weight today. There was no speed and I thought he might get this,” said Gray.
“Amirul (Ismadi) rode him very well. He’s got a bright future here this kid.
“I will run him in the El Dorado next. It’ll be a big test but I think he should get the 22.
“He’s bred to stay and he’s done nothing wrong. If he goes well, then we may look at the Gold Cup.”
The Elusive City five-year-old certainly enjoyed a ground-saving run on the rails for Amirul. But with the moderate tempo set by Time Odyssey (Barend Vorster), it was a fairly bunched-up field that attacked the line upon straightening.
Time Odyssey, normally superior on Polytrack, was surprisingly not folding while Cooptado (Olivier Placais) and Bourbon Goldman (Michael Rodd) were pinching away at the margin.
As for favourite Rockfast (Manoel Nunes), he was hopelessly caught behind a wall of horses at the 300m, and even after he was switched across heels for galloping room, he disappointingly remained flatfooted.
But not Bahana ($39), who though always workmanlike in his acceleration, slowly gained the ascendancy between runners to gain the verdict by a neck from Time Odyssey. Cooptado, who looked like he could bounce back to a first win since his Gold Cup heroics last November, eventually ran third another short head away.
The winning time was 2min 4.25secs for the 2000m on the Short Course.
“I did the handicap and I thought he would be in second or third spot in the running and that is exactly how it worked out,” said Amirul.
“The tempo suited him and turning for home he was travelling really well, but for a while, I was worried I might not be able to get out, especially as he doesn’t have a brilliant turn of foot.
“But when I got the split, he was very game and fought all the way to the line.”
Bahana has now taken his handy record to five wins and four placings from 11 starts for stakes earnings close to the $240,000 mark for the Dago Stable.
