Honest galloper Snitzel Spirit just shaded it as he emerged from a closely-fought battle to be the first to get his head across the line in Sunday’s $80,000 Kranji Stakes C race (1600m).

The four-year-old chestnut gelding had proven over his last 11 outings that he is no slouch, scoring four times and being placed in five trips up to 1400m in distance. But Snitzel Spirit had only a single outing over the mile, that coming in November 7 last year at the Group 3 Magic Millions More Magic 3YO Championship, where he finished third, six lengths behind the winner Affleck.

However his recent form, a win and two seconds at his last three starts, has been good enough to install him as the $10 race favourite going into Sunday’s race.

Corey Brown, who was at his sixth ride on Snitzel Spirit, settled the Michael Freedman-trained galloper in third behind Alexandra Palace (Barend Vorster) and Invictus (A’Isisuhairi Kasim).

At the top of the straight, Snitzel Spirit got into a good position with a clear view of the finishing line as the field bunched up. With everyone going at it hammer and tongs, it was the son of Snitzel who gradually pulled clear, fending off the late attentions from Imperial March (Nooresh Juglall) and Gold Hill (Shafiq Rizuan) to cross the winning post in a winning time of 1min 35.74secs.

Imperial March was three-parts-of-a-length behind in second place while Gold Hill came in third a further head behind.

Brown shared that this win answered a question that had been perplexing him all this while.

“At his last few starts he was always pulling up on me,” said Brown. “I thought he was just another horse with a small heart.

“After riding him today, I realise he was actually asking for more distance.

“It looked like a tough race out there but he ran really well and he definitely has a big heart.”

With this win, Snitzel Sprit has brought home stakes earnings in excess of $270,000 for the Threekingstwowin stable.