On a night full of silverware, jockey Manoel Nunes took home the biggest plaudits as he bagged a winning treble on Friday.
He then capped what will be a memorable meeting under the floodlights for himself when he drove Wonderful Prince across the line to capture the main race of the nine-card meeting, The Austcham Cup. He would follow up that effort with another win in the penultimate contest, this time astride Peregrine Falcon in The Southern Star Stakes, a $35,000 Class 5 race over1400m.
Wonderful Prince, a New Zealand-bred galloper and donning winkers for the first time, had too much in the tank for his rivals in the $80,000 Class 3 race over 1200m as he powered home to beat Kaiser (A’Isisuhairi Kasim) by three-quarter length with Bellwether (Corey Brown) a head away in third. The winning time on the Short Course was 1min 9.83secs.
“It’s a big pleasure for me,” said Nunes, the country’s leading rider after extending his lead at the top of the premiership with his 88th, 89th and 90th winner of the season. “To have 200 winners anywhere is very special but to do it here in Singapore is very satisfying.
“This is a great place to race and I want to thank the Singapore Turf Club for giving me the opportunity to come here. And to all the trainers, owners and connections, I appreciate all their support and couldn’t have done this without them.”
His victory in the headline event of the night was textbook stuff from the former six-time Macau champion jockey, who looks poised to add this year’s premiership crown to his burgeoning resume.
Content to keep Wonderful Prince, who was first-up after 133 days on the sidelines, in midfield as $12 favourite and bold frontrunner Mia (Noh Senari) went off at a fast clip, Nunes is never one to panic and called upon all his experience with the perfectly-scripted finish to snatch the headlines.
“With the winkers on for the first time and coming back after a long layoff, he (Wonderful Prince) was a bit keen and he actually hit the front too early,” he said. “I didn’t want to rush him and push him too early because it doesn’t suit him.
“He was traveling very nicely for me and at the top of the straight I knew he was always going to finish strongly.
“He’s still improving and still a bit shy but next season you will see a much better horse. He’s a big, strong horse and if we can get him to relax, he can easily go over longer distance and take on the mile, no problem.”
Having decided to send the Elusive City four-year-old for a four-month spell, trainer Desmond Koh was vindicated in his decision as he was rewarded with another winning performance form Wonderful Prince.
“He’s a very nice horse and while it was a tough race tonight, I liked his chances,” said the Singaporean handler, who made back-to-back trips to the winner’s circle after Peregrine Falcon saluted in the next race.
He was nevertheless a relieved man when reflecting on Wonderful Prince’s latest victory. He said: “When he was shut off at the straight I thought that was it for him but he ran on very nicely.
“He can probably cover more ground but I’m going to play it safe with him after this and stretch him out slowly.”
With four wins and a second from five starts, Wonderful Prince has chalked up around $144,000 in stakes earnings for the Wonderful Three Stable, with the promise of more to come from the classy galloper.
