There were a number of key highlights during the 2016 season none more so than the progression displayed by star galloper Debt Collector.
Unbeaten from six attempts in 2016, Debt Collector notched up three Group 1 victories, rounding out his campaign with a very impressive display in the Group 1 Raffles Cup [1800m].
The Star: Debt Collector
Since breaking his maiden status in November last year, Debt Collector is unbeaten from six starts and is just that – a winner.
In what can only be described as a remarkable training performance, Debt Collector has continued to raise the bar for trainer Cliff Brown.At his last six attempts Debt Collector has bettered his previous mark and is clearly a galloper on an upward spiral.
His Raffles Cup performance saw the four-year-old return a new career peak and there is little to suggest he can’t raise the bar further.Ridden by regular rider Michael Rodd, Debt Collector adopted his usual position towards the rear with the James Peters trained Titanium setting what can only be described as a pedestrian tempo in-front.
Grand galloper War Affair gave a good sight when hitting the lead inside the 300m before only swamped in the final 50m.
The Patrick Shaw trained Quechua worked to the line well to finish ahead of War Affair, but was no match for Debt Collector.Although only a narrow victor, the race sectionals tell a different story.
For his last 800m Debt Collector was marked over 2.5L faster than his nearest rival with the last 600m of the race run over 12L inside standard.In summary, due to the sluggish early tempo the 2016 Raffles Cup was simply and walk and sprint home.
As a result there was only 2.6L separating the seven across the line with a length separating the first four.Nonetheless, his victory cements Debt Collector's position as the best horse in Singapore with the future very bright for the son of Thorn Park.
The Group 1 Singapore Derby [2000m] appears the next logical target and with all things being equal he is clearly the one to beat.Though given the way the Raffles Cup was run, a question mark still remains as to whether Debt Collector can run out a strong 2000m, however one would be game to bet against him.
Sky Is The Limit: Nova Swiss
Having turned plenty of heads in his Singapore debut, Nova Swiss has since notched up four straight wins, by a combined margin of 15L.
Formerly based in New Zealand the son of Swiss Ace displayed good ability in his five starts and has clearly taken that next step since transferred to Singapore.Now under the care of Alvin Tan, Nova Swiss has continued to raise the bar with his latest performance simply electric.
Jumping away well from the inside draw, Nova Swiss held his position fourth one off the fence, with the Shane Baertschiger trained Mycaptainoblivious taking up the running.In firm control on straightening, Nunes always appeared confident and proceeded to take another grip approaching the 300m.
Pulling his way to the lead, Nunes cut Nova Swiss loose inside the 200m and the response was devastating.In two strides Nova Swiss put a gap on his rivals and quickly drew clear, eased down late to score by four lengths.
Sent out the prohibitive odds of $1.20, Nova Swiss was one for the thrill seekers however he never gave his backers any concern.Improving seven pounds on his previous best, Nova Swiss continued his upwards spiral and also recorded his strongest performance against the clock.
Having won over both 1000m and 1100m, he was yet to tick the 1200m box, however it would prove no issue for the son of Swiss Ace.His latest challenge was certainly a stern test, however he again made his rivals appear second rate.
No question he is a Group class sprinter and if able to continue his progression, Nova Swiss is on track to be labelled Singapore's best sprinter by the end of 2017.On raw times only Spalato has gone faster over 1000m this year, recording 57.93 seconds back in February (14/02).
To place that into perspective, since 2008 only three horses have been recorded faster than Spalato, which highlights just how impressive Nova Swiss' performance was two starts back.Following his latest success it is expected that Nova Swiss will now target the Group 2 Merlion Trophy (1200m).
The feature sprint race is the first Leg of the Singapore Sprint Series and is a race Tan has a good record in, having won it three times in a row between 2013 and 2015 (Speedy Cat and El Padrino twice).Although clearly another step up for the three-year-old, on what we have seen to this point he is more than up to the task — he is a star!
The Next Quechua: Bahana
In what was simply a master class from Australian jockey Craig Williams, Bahana proved too slick for his rivals posting his seventh win from 13 attempts.
After beginning well from the wide draw, Williams took the initiative to roll forward and take up the running.Allowed to dictate terms, Williams simply pants his rivals.
Revved up passing the 800m, Bahana headed for home and while some may felt he went too early, in truth Williams had plenty of horse left underneath him.In what turned out to be a walk and sprint home, Bahana reeled off last 600m marked 15L inside standard — his rivals had no chance!
The only galloper to make considerable ground was the Shane Baertschiger trained Blue Swede who came from well back to finish third.A noteworthy performance given the first four around the turn finished 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th.
Given he is only lightly raced, Bahana now creates plenty of interest moving forward.His in the Gold Cup saw him return a clear new career peak and now the question remains whether he can make the transition to WFA company.
A winner of five of his last six starts, Bahana is clearly a galloper heading in the right direction and possesses a similar profile to 2014 Singapore Gold Cup winner Quechua.The latter has since made the transition to be one of Singapore's leading gallopers, can Bahana do the same? Early indications suggest he can.
