For the man of few words to laud Spalato as “probably the best” horse he has ever trained, it is quite a big call from trainer John O'Hara.
He may get even bolder on Sunday should the New Zealand-bred win the $500,000 Group 1 Patron’s Bowl (1600m), the second Leg of the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge. The Singaporean handler may just throw caution to the wind and drop the word “probably” altogether.
Nobody would hold it against O’Hara for sticking his neck out. The 50-year-old has put the bridle on a few good sorts in his 22 years as a trainer or assistant-trainer, be it in Penang, Bukit Timah or Kranji, and would know a thing or two about quality when he sees one.
Rochae, the winner of Piala Emas Sultan Selangor in 1994 and Glider Line, winner of the Silver Cup in 1998, spring to mind while in recent years, Group 1 Raffles Cup winner Chevron (who was, however, trained by Charles Leck while O’Hara was then his assistant-trainer) in 2008, and Ghozi, his only “black type” winner (Group 2 Stewards’ Cup in 2010 and Group 3 Kranji Sprint in 2011) since he was granted a new licence in 2009, stand out as above-average.
Emerald Hill and Flash Gift were exciting prospects, but the former met with a sad end after he broke down in the Group 1 KrisFlyer International Sprint (1200m) last year while Flash Gift has hovered around the 80-point vicinity.
But Spalato, who is named after a city in Croatia, could be the real deal. It is not just the glint dancing in O’Hara’s eyes that seems to believe so, but most Kranji pundits have put a big boom on the precocious gelding.
Unbeaten in two starts, the Elusive City four-year-old out of Ellington (Express Duke) may have won in modest Initiation and Class 4 company and is this time facing a big leap in class, but the way he spanked his rivals (just under 10 lengths on debut and 4 1/2 lengths second-up) has made O’Hara take the leap of faith.
“It’s going to be a big step-up in class for him, plus it is a race at level weights,” said O’Hara.
“He will run against some of the best four-year-olds in the race like Stepitup, Johnny Guitar and Wall Street Boy. This is his biggest test by far, but the only way to find out if he can measure up is to run him.
“He has trained on since his last win and I couldn’t be happier with his condition going into the Patron’s Bowl.”
With the buzz around his two wins only recent, Spalato came late into the reckoning for the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge.
“We didn’t really have any 4YO Challenge plans for him at first, but after his two wins, he sure deserved a crack at it,” said O’Hara.
“But the Stewards’ Cup (1400m, first Leg) was out of question as it was too close to his last race (two weeks).
“The 1600m trip should be okay for him, but as for the (Emirates Singapore) Derby (2000m), I’ll see how he goes in the Patron’s Bowl first to have a better idea.”
Whether he runs in the third Leg of the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge, the $1.15 million Group 1 Emirates Singapore Derby on July 13 remains to be seen, but O’Hara would be loath to test the limits of his precious charge at such an early stage of his preparation.
“I’ve worked with a few good horses like Glider Line and Chevron, but Spalato’s probably the best horse I’ve ever trained,” said O’Hara.
“It’s unfair to compare him with the other horses as they’re different. For example, Emerald Hill was an outstanding sprinter while Spalato is more of a miler and a different type of racehorse altogether.
“As a trainer, it goes without saying I’m excited to train a horse with such untapped potential, but I’m also very happy for Graham Mackie, his owner, who bred him.
“He’s been a big supporter of the stable and it’s great to see him own a very good horse.
“We’ll take it one step at a time. The horse will tell us how good he really is and hopefully, we’ll have a lot of fun with him.”
Spalato will be ridden by Manoel Nunes, his winning partner at his last start, and will be on level terms with the male runners on 57kgs while the two mares in the race, Bendicion and Empress Wu will carry 55.5kgs.
