Marble one went a long way towards replicating Black Ice's last rails-hugging victory in Friday's $125,000 Open Class race over 1600m on Polytrack.
Photo by Singapore Turf Club
The black five-year-old by Mugharreb scored his last win four runs back when he drew barrier No 1 and took the shortest way home to take the scalps of some heavyweights like Better Than Ever, Mr Raffles and Davide at long odds ($131) in a Kranji Stakes A race over 1400m.
Drawn further in at his next three starts, Black Ice did not salute, but did make ground towards the business end.
But the return to the coveted inside gate on Friday, coupled with a clever tinkering with his head gear, brought the winning flair back in the Steven Burridge-trained gelding.
Ridden by his last winning partner Matthew Kellady, Black Ice held the rails to settle closer to the lead than customary, but looked a touch outpaced at the 500m when the pace picked up a notch.
The Patrick Shaw trio of Flying West (Greg Cheyne), Jamal Malik (Alan Munro) and Maurice Utrillo (Barend Vorster) then had the race under their control, but when the field fanned out across the track at the point of turn, Black Ice was suddenly in a striking position as he stuck hard up against the rails.
That was when Kellady started to hunt him up as Flying West rolled off the fence, for an inviting run on the rails. It was almost like deja-vu as Black Ice stormed through the gap in identical fashion to his last win to wear down Flying West and score by a neck on the line. Maurice Utrillo ran third another 2 ½ lengths away.
The winning time was 1min 39.73secs.
“I was worried he would get too far back as it was his first time with blinker-pacifiers,” said Burridge. “But he held his position on the rails and Matty rode him a treat.
“He looked like he was struggling at the top of the straight, but he finished off very well.
“It's about time we get some results from this horse after all the problems he's had. He's had bad feet and it's taken a while to get him right.”
Black Ice ($42) has now scored eight wins from 21 starts for prizemoney in excess of $440,000 for his connections.
Kellady said Black Ice is a horse one has to cuddle along in his races.
“He's a horse you cannot rush along to keep his position. You just need to let him gallop at his own pace,” said Kellady.
“He normally drops back, but he took the bit and wanted to go forward early. So I just let him roll forward on the rails.
“He was left a little on the backfoot before the home turn but when the rails gap came up, the heavens just opened.
“Because of his feet, he needs all the help to get him home. You can't cut him in half in the last bit.
“Tonight, I just gave him a slap or two and rode him hands and heels after that.”
