If prizemoney was paid on winning margins. Philanthropist would probably have collected only a quarter of his current earnings handed out at his four Kranji wins.
Photo by Singapore Turf Club
Renowned for his razor’s edge wins, the Churchill Downs four-year-old has altogether scored by a combined margin not exceeding one length (head, nose, ¼ length and ¼ length). But to trainer Mok Zhan Lun, it does not matter how economical he is with the way he gets home, the stats are the real bottom line: Four wins from seven starts for a healthy haul of $161,516.25 for the Good Health Stable.
A NZ$21,000 purchase as a two-year-old, the well-named Philanthropist has certainly more than repaid his owners with his generous contributions, which Mok is hoping will swell further in the Open Benchmark 83 race over 1200m on Polytrack this Sunday.
Up against much tougher opposition in the likes of Greenstone, Shuttle Man, Boundless Glory and One Smart Cat, Philanthropist, whose last victory came in a Kranji Stakes C race over 1200m on July 21, will be facing his sternest test thus far, but Mok said he hoped the featherweight load (50kg) will give his charge a distinct advantage.
“This horse always wins by small margins, but he always gets the job done and that’s all that matters,” said Mok.
“He’s definitely one of my favourites at the stable. I actually gave him his English name while the owners chose the Chinese name.
“He’s a versatile sort who can run on both turf and Polytrack and has got a very short burst. On many occasions, he looked like he would not get there in time, but he just seems to know where the winning post is.
“He’s up in class and he’s meeting a pretty strong field this time. Horses like One Smart Cat and Boundless Glory will be hard to beat, but my horse has trained on since his last win.”
A significant tweaking in plans had to, however, be made as Mok will have to resort to another jockey following the unavailability of regular partner Oscar Chavez (rode him to three wins) through injury.
“(Jockey) Benny Woodworth is back from Macau and Malaysia. As he was booked to ride Tropical Forest on the same day, I asked him to ride Philanthropist as well,” he said.
“He will ride him 1 ½ kilos over, but it’s still a small weight and let’s hope he can measure up. Knowing him, he will keep us on the edge of our seats if he does, but I am just hoping for a good run.
“At this stage, he’s probably more comfortable over 1200m to 1400m, but next year he may go up to a mile. Depending on how he goes on Sunday, I may then consider the Jumbo Jet Trophy for him next.”
The Group 3 Jumbo Jet Trophy is a Weight-for-Age race run over 1400m on turf on September 1. Mok, a former Forex trader who obtained his trainer’s licence in 2010, has yet to win a ‘Black Type’ race.
Speaking of ‘Black’, Mok will also be keeping a keen eye on another recent winner from his barn this weekend, Black Unicorn who races in Friday’s Open Benchmark 74 race over 1100m. The Dubleo five-year-old is also up in grade after he won a 1000m race in Class 4 company at is last outing a fortnight ago.
“Black Unicorn’s also up in ratings, and again, there is a big name in the field, Flash Gift,” said Mok, referring to the US-bred chestnut who only tasted defeat for the first time at his fourth run (second) upon resuming from almost a year.
“As he’s not a big-framed horse, I need to pick his races carefully so he gets to carry light weights.
“I was actually looking for a Benchmark 67 race for him, but the race was cancelled due to insufficient entries. He will have an even lighter handicap (50.5kg) in this Benchmark 74 race and will be ridden by Tan Wei Li.”
Besides Flash Gift, Black Unicorn will find on his way other handy performers such as last-start winner Sand Lane, Klever Man and Wilkinson.
