Diminutive galloper Flax made a welcome return to the winner’s circle when he took out the Group 2 $300,000 Chairman’s Trophy over 1800m on Sunday.
Photo by Singapore Turf Club
While he’s only small – weighing in at just 433 kg on Sunday – he’s a galloper with plenty of heart as he fought his way to a narrow victory.
Ridden by Barend Vorster, Flax had to dig deep to fight off a determined Nandowra (Manoel Nunes) to score by a neck with Always Certain (A’Isisuhairi Kasim) a length-and-a-half back in third place.
There was a sensation in the final few minutes leading up to the race with the withdrawal of the odds-on favourite Mawingo at the barrier. The gelding was found to be lame in the right foreleg and was withdrawn on veterinary grounds.
A five minute delay ensured which allowed punters who had invested on Mawingo the opportunity to reinvest on the race.
After barrier rise Ready To Strike (Danny Beasley) went through to assume the lead on settling down from Nandowra with Wild Geese (John Powell) and Flax next in the running order.
Little changed going down the backstraight. Deep Pockets (Alan Munro) had settled at the tail began a three wide move passing the 700m to move into a midfield position by the time the turn was reached.
Soon after straightening Nandowra took over from Ready To Strike but Vorster was ready to pounce aboard Flax.
The pair broke clear of the pack and settled down to a two-horse war to the post. Flax gained the ascendency with 200m to run but Nandowra, who is renowned for his fighting qualities, refused to give in, but just couldn’t peg back the winner.
Trainer David Hill said Flax had not lost his ability but had not been 100% in his last two starts prior to Sunday’s victory which included last placings in the Singapore Airlines International Cup on May 19 and a last placing over 1400m on July 7.
“You can just ignore his last two runs,” said Hill. “In the big race everything just went wrong for him.
“We got him over here and he pulled off two shoes. He’s a real handful at the best of time to shoe then we had to re-saddle him after (Jose) Verenzuela had his fall and was replaced by (Manoel) Nunes.
“He came out of the calming stall after being re-saddled and I could see then that he had run his race.
“After that we gave him a break and had a race for him, but then the smog came into Singapore and we had to scratch him.
“Because of his health issues we weren’t able to work him for five or six days and he wasn’t ready for his last start, but that seven furlongs race really brought him on.
“My big concern today was the ground, but he seems to have come through it alright. We’ll probably give him a bit of a break again now and look to the races later in the year.
“I might bypass the (Group 1) Kranji Mile and concentrate more on the (Group 1) Raffles Cup with him and just look for a suitable race for him along the way.”
Vorster is no stranger to success in the Newbury Racing colours of Denis and Gael Evans that he carried to success aboard Flax.
He carried those colours to victory on the Newbury Racing owned Ato in the 2012 International Group 1 KrisFlyer International Sprint over 1200m.
It was Vorster’s first ride on the South African-bred galloper.
“It was a good strong win,” said Vorster. “He showed a lot of heart to hold off that second horse.
“He was in a comfortable position throughout the race and gave a nice kick and kept fighting all the way to the line.
“Congratulations to the owners. They have some very nice horses in Singapore and deserve their success.”
Flax has had a previous history of collapsing following his races, but according to Vorster had pulled-up fine following his victory.
A six-year-old by Silvano from Bejewelled Spring, Flax has won seven of his 16 starts with three minor placings and Sunday’s victory took his prizemoney earnings to just shy of $1 million.
For good measure Hill backed up Flax’s success by claiming the following race – the $55,000 Muscle Man Class 4 Stakes over 1600m – with Seasons Echo which also provided winning jockey Ivaldo Santana with his first treble in Singapore having scored earlier in the day aboard Gold Run and Kate’s Keeper.
