The old combo of Natural Impulse-Daniel Meagher-Saifudin Ismail was back to the fore after they landed the spoils for the sixth time on Friday night.
The “old stalwart”, as Meagher calls the gelding, reeled off three wins in a row when the youngest son of former Kranji trainer John Meagher just kicked off his fledgling career as a trainer in his own right in Singapore in 2016. The son of Conatus found the going tougher as the level of opposition rose, but still earned his oats with the odd visit to the winner’s circle.
One more win came his way last year and another one earlier in the year before he made it win No 6 at odds of $24 in the $45,000 Class 4 Non Premier race over 1000m on Friday.
From the way Saifudin cuddled the chestnut to the line despite the close attention of the better-backed pair of Lonhro Gold (Vlad Duric, $14 favourite) and King Of War (Olivier Placais, $16), it was pretty obvious the Malaysian jockey had developed a close bond with the horse he has now partnered to all his six wins.
Meagher for one did not fail to highlight the chemistry between not just horse and rider but also among the triumvirate.
“Saifudin was one of the first jockeys to walk into our yard 18 years ago. I remember he swam his own horses!” fondly recalled Meagher, who was himself of a slighter build then when assisting his father as a senior track rider.
“He’s had a quiet start to the year, but it’s amazing what confidence can do to you (only one win on Natural Impulse in January until he brought up three wins in June). Saifudin’s a terrific guy and a loyal man and is part of the team.
“This horse has won six races for us now and Saifudin was aboard at each win. He knows him inside out.
“The horse is no world beater but he’s been a great servant to us, a great stable stalwart. He’s a sound horse and we just have to keep him happy.
“It’s also great for his owner Mr Robert Tan (Fortune Stable) who has been very patient with him.”
Also showing a great dose of patience during the race was Saifudin, especially when the first broadsides from Lonhro Gold and King Of War were fired inside the last two furlongs.
The veteran rider waited for as long as he could before pulling the whip, and even when he did, he did not quite whack away as he usually does, preferring to elect for a rhythmic motion as he coaxed the six-year-old to the finishing line.
It was a 10-out-of-10 ride that saw Natural Impulse fall in by a head from Lonhro Gold, on whom Duric was in contrast at his powerful best with the persuader, but the night belonged to Natural Impulse.
King Of War ran third another three parts of a length away. The winning time was 59.49 seconds for the 1000m on the Polytrack.
“He runs best when he goes to the front, and with the blinkers on, he was all switched on,” said Saifudin.
“But I purposely slowed down the pace to save his energy for the last bit. He doesn’t really like the whip, so I just rode him out to the line and luckily, he made it.”
Natural Impulse has been a decent moneyspinner to connections having now taken his stakes earnings past the $190,000 mark for the Fortune Stable.
