Kai Power showcased his staying ability with a strong finish to take home the $60,000 Super Easy 2012 Stakes race (1700m) on Friday night.
Owner-trainer Brian Dean bought him as a stayer and his early form suggested the Australian was on to something.
The Bramshaw five-year-old consistently finished in the top four in his first seven races at Kranji. He managed to grab a win last year on October 31 in an Open Benchmark 67 race over 1800m, when with jockey Erasmus Aslam astride, he pipped Dark Pulse (A’Isisuhairi Kasim) to a photo finish win.
He came in second in his next race but his form started to decline rapidly thereafter. In an effort to stop the rot, Dean looked for a Polytrack race for Kai Power, who had been racing exclusively on turf.Friday’s event gave him that opportunity and with Aslam back in the saddle, the gamble paid off handsomely.
“I have always wanted to get Aslam back on the horse,” said Dean.
“The jockey has had his ups and downs in his career. He had to lose a lot of weight before returning as a jockey but he always works hard.
“It was the first time the horse is racing on Polytrack, but he has been in good form and I always felt he had a winning chance.”
Aslam was delighted with the win and credited Dean for sticking by him when the going got rough.
“At one point my weight tipped the scales at 85kg,” recalled the Singaporean jockey of the times when his weight ballooned and he could only work as a stable supervisor and track rider to Dean.
“It is all thanks to Brian and his faith in me that I am able to win today.
“The horse has always worked well on Polytrack but to win in his first Polytrack race is unbelievable!”
Kai Power began Friday’s race as he always did, sitting back and letting others take the early lead. Longshot Dark Pulse (Craig Newitt) who closed at $250, charged forward to take the early lead and managed to keep his position until the end of the backstraight.
Ozymandias (Alan Munro) whipped around to start circling the field shortly after, running three wide without cover to grab the lead from Dark Pulse with 800m remaining.
As the pack straightened up, Kai Power was still languishing at the back of the field, with only Pinyin (Nooresh Juglall) behind him.
Just when all looked lost for Kai Power, he showed that he still had something left in his tank with a terrific turn of foot to burst forward out wide. The rest of the field could not match him and he eventually hit home comfortably in a winning time of 1min 45.04secs, a full length ahead of second-placed Brad. Bring Money Home was third a further neck away.
“I bought him as a stayer and today he has proven that he can cover this distance on both grass and Polytrack,” said Dean.
“He’s a horse I’ve always had trouble finding the right race for. It’s either too short or he is balloted out, but I always knew he had ability.
“He will be stepped up to 2000m in his next race and we will see how he goes then.”
