Trainer Alwin Tan thought it would have literally taken an “Absolute Miracle” for his horse to win from where he was upon cornering on Friday night.
As he looked skywards for a divine answer, he should have instead levelled his gaze at the man holding the reins: Hot-to-trot jockey Danny Beasley who was riding on the crest of a wave on that night. After he reached a career milestone with his 500th winner (Chalaza) and capped the feat with a riding treble (Lim’s Knight and Bayu) for good measure, nothing was impossible for the Australian rider.
Still mired at the rear just before entering the straight, Absolute Miracle ($41), who suffered a baffling defeat at his last start and had as a result lost a fair chunk of admirers next time out in Friday’s $80,000 Kranji Stakes C race over 1400m, was sitting on the cusp of yet another shocker.
Down the middle of the track, favourite Battle Of Troy (Wong Chin Chuen) looked home and hosed after he emerged from his smothered run in transit to charge to the line virtually unopposed.
But Beasley had in the meantime brought Absolute Miracle with a weaving run through the pack - and needing just one last crack in the wall to complete what looked a daunting task just a few seconds earlier.
All hopes looked dashed when he ran into a dead end behind Oxbow Sun (Benny Woodworth) and Kirks Ryker (Barend Vorster) at the 200m, but “miracles” do happen as Kirks Ryker did roll off slightly, and Absolute Miracle could finally dive through to go and snatch a heart-stopping win.
Battle Of Troy had to settle for second place a neck away with Kirks Ryker third another 1 ¼ lengths away. The winning time was 1min 22.74secs for the 1400m on the Short Course.
“I think at his last race, the pace was fast and Danny had to keep up with the pace by going forward, but from the wide barrier (14) tonight, we decided to drop back, there was no other choice,” said Tan.
“He was travelling okay at the rear, but when they straightened up, I was not very sure he could make up so much ground, but Danny did an excellent job to get him through a gap at the right moment.
“He is a horse who works very well in the morning and we have very high hopes for him. I could be looking at those 1400m to mile feature races for him like the Jumbo Jet and even the Patron’s Bowl.”
Tan was referring to the second Leg of the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge, the Group 1 Patron’s Bowl (1600m) on June 18 which the son of Strategic Maneuver is eligible for as he is a four-year-old while the Group 3 Jumbo Jet Trophy (1400m) is still some time away as it will only be run on September 10.
But it is precisely the time element that has been the key to the former Sydney galloper’s coming of age at Kranji, according to Beasley, who was at his first four-timer this season. He has scored a few in his career, with the latest at Kranji coming on October 24, 2014 with Laser Storm, Bob, White Coffee and Happy Money.
“It’s taken us a long time to work him out,” said Beasley about the former James Cummings-trained Sydney one-time winner (then known as Unblemished Mark).
“He was coming good when he won two in a row, but then, he went backwards at his last start. I think I rode him too close to the pace.
“When he drew 12 (after the emergencies were withdrawn), Alwin was a little down, but I told him it could be a blessing. We had no other option but to get back and that’s how I wanted to ride him, anyway.
“There was a solid strong pace to the race and he was travelling relaxed at the back. He was improving really well but when I saw Barend’s horse and Benny’s horse in front, I thought ‘oh no’ Barend’s horse will roll in and that will shut it out, and it’s game over.
“But he rolled off and the gap came up, and he just went whoosh. It was a pretty smart win in the end.
“He came here with good wraps, but unfortunately, he got here a bit late. I think he has really improved now and he could have a nice future here.”
Absolute Miracle has now scored three wins and four placings from 10 starts for stakes earnings past the $150,000 mark for his owner Mathilda Koh.
