Xin Treasure made every post a winning one en route to winning Friday’s $60,000 Class 4 race over 1200m.
The Desmond Koh-trained galloper had a torrid time the last time out. Then, in a Kranji Stakes D (1200m) on May 8, he jumped into a good position just behind the leader and was happy to maintain that position and leave some fuel in the tank for a late charge for the top spot.
But upon straightening, the chasing pack started to bunch up around him and the six-year-old gelding wilted under the pressure, eventually finishing a disappointing eighth in the 12-strong field.
With Friday's win, Xin Treasure has returned to his best and according to the winning jockey Benny Woodworth, the accolades must go to Koh for a well devised plan.
“It was Desmond’s plan to jump fast and lead early,” said Woodworth. “Two races ago, it was similar. He led early and finished well.
“Today, towards the end, he was drifting out when under pressure from the other horse (Dylan). But other than that, there wasn’t much during the race to worry about.”
Xin Treasure shot out of the gates as planned and led the field from the start, with Treasureintheheart (Shafiq Rizuan) and Thankfulness (Michael Rodd) following closely behind. The leading trio stayed ahead of the field until the closing stages of the race, when Dylan (Manoel Nunes) showed a good turn of foot to threaten the leaders with a strong run on the outside.
Just as it looked like the late challenger was about to steal the win, the post came too soon and he ran out of turf, leaving Xin Treasure to win the race in 1min10.43secs. Dylan was three parts of a length behind in second place and Thankfulness came in third, a further half-a-length away.
“The field was moderate today,” said Koh. “I noticed there wasn’t much speed in front so leading early was an option.
“He has some natural speed. I told Benny if he can catch the pace early, then go for it.
“1200m is this horse’s bread and butter. I’ll continue to keep him at this distance for his subsequent races.”
As a result of this win, Xin Treasure has now recorded seven wins from 52 starts and has racked up close to $336,000 for the D & D Stable.
