The Cliff Brown-trained Deimos was spot-on at his racing comeback on Sunday even if he had to battle a wide trip right through the $60,000 Class 4 race over 1100m to come up trumps.
Last seen in the third Leg of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge, the Group 1 Singapore Guineas (1600m) back in May when he ran last to Forever Young, Deimos certainly showed the benefit of that break by finishing right at the other end five months later.
From a sticky gate, the early stages of the comeback race would, however, earn him a good night’s sleep back at the Brown barn later.
Caught five wide and with barely any smother, Deimos just kept covering the most ground among the 12 runners to swing out the widest, homeward-bound.
After matching motors at the head of affairs, Barnato (Krisna Thangamani) shook off D’Great Danger (Wong Chin Chuen), but he soon came under siege, too.
Supersonicsurprise (Shafiq Rizuan) loomed momentarily, but from behind, a nuggety little chestnut was putting in the big bounds - Deimos.
Well ridden by first-time partner, apprentice jockey Amirul Ismadi, the Showcasing four-year-old was showing no ill-effects of his torrid trip as he finished with a flourish on the outside to prevail by three parts of a length.
Melting Point (Alan Munro) steamed home at the rate of knots to just deny Barnato a podium finish by a nose. The winning time was a smart 1min 4.68secs for the 1100m on the Polytrack, only 0.47 second outside Pole Paradise’s recently-broken record.
With Brown away, assistant-trainer Tim Fitzsimmons said that Deimos was a talented individual who had to overcome a few niggling issues, and could only get better as he chalks up more mileage.
“It’s a great result. He had a good break after a few early issues,” said the Australian horseman.
“He’s come back good after his first campaign when he won some really good races. He also ran a very good race with Nooresh (Juglall) in the Group race (fifth in the Group 2 Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic over 1400m).
“We won’t get ahead of ourselves, but he could become a genuine Class 3 horse, you never know.”
From a total of seven wins this season, the Stephen Gray-indentured Amirul has now recorded his last four wins for Brown, including three for Deimos’ owner Astley Phua of Olympian Stable.
“He’s a good horse who has run in good races and was back in Class 4 today,” said jockey-turned-trainer Ismadi Ismail’s son.
“We were only concerned about his wide draw, but fortunately, things turned out all right for us. The horse travelled really well even though he was wide throughout.
“I had just a little bit of cover behind Olivier’s (Placais) horse (Casing Royal) down the back. Even if he was wide, he was always travelling well on the bridle and in the straight, he quickened very well.”
A personal favourite of Singapore Turf Club race caller Nicholas Child’s, Deimos has now stretched his handy record to three wins and three placings from 10 starts for prizemoney in excess of $150,000 for the Olympian Stable.
