Singapore Gold Cup victor Quechua was unable to salute as favourite on Sunday, however his performance in defeat held plenty of merit.
Making his return in the Group 3 Polytrack Mile Championship, the son of Pure Prize was clearly unsuited over the shorter trip, when settling just off - midfield.
Stablemate Slew Of Lode proved far too good on-speed, when receiving all the favours in front.
Allowed to virtually crawl in the early stages, Slew of Lode returned a closing sectional close to six lengths inside standard — emphasising the difficulty faced by his rivals to run him down.In what was clearly a sit and sprint affair, Quechua's ability to come from the tail and finish three lengths astern of the winner, emphasised the high level of his performance.
Quechua recorded the quickest closing sectionals of the race and was marked 0.07 seconds quicker than Slew Of Lode for his last 200m.On Timeform ratings, Quechua was marked five pounds below his best, however it does appear a good building block for the four-year-old moving forward.
He will no doubt take good benefit from the performance and appears to be back in great order.
Likely to be stepped up in trip at his next outing, if placed in suitable company Quechua should prove very hard to beat.Though not at the level of War Affair, Quechua remains one of the more promising stayers in Singapore and should be followed closely.
Knight WagerStepping out for just his third start in Singapore, the son of Casino Prince had created quite the impression on debut, when coming from near last to salute at decent odds.
Thrown in the deep end at his next start, Knight Wager acquitted himself well, when beaten three lengths behind Absolutely.Bumping into a number of talented types (Titanium, Hughsy, Believe Yourself and Power Lion), Knight Wager improved considerably on his debut win, before again raising the bar on Sunday.
Allowed to settle towards the tail of the field, Knight Wager always travelled well under Michael Rodd, before peeling one of the widest runners on straightening.Despite spotting the leaders a sizable margin, Knight Wager was allowed to slowly work through his gears, hitting the front inside the 200m.
Drawing away to score by a length, the four-year-old recorded a new career peak and is clearly heading in the right direction for the Michael Clements stable.The clock also backed up the strength of his performance, with Knight Wager recording the quickest time of the night — marked four lengths superior.
When trained in New Zealand, his best form was achieved at seven furlongs, which suggests he should keep improving when tried over further.Trainer Michael Clements is enjoying a great run of form at present — four of his last 16 runners have been victorious, with a further five placing.
More notably from his last 20 runners who have started favourite, 12 have saluted, leaving him with an impressive strike rate of 60 per cent.Stable star Kiwi Karma is obviously his shinning light at present, but would also strongly advise sticking with Knight Wager in the future.
