Apprentice jockey Troy See could barely hold back his joy after Castor defied all the doubters over his staying ability with a stunning win over a trip on Friday night.
Usually the epitome of cool in good or bad times, See turned to the grandstand and gave a big salute way before the winning post the moment he knew the Greenwood Lake five-year-old was home and hosed in the $80,000 Kranji Stakes C race over 1700m.
Such an over-the-top celebratory gesture normally lightens jockeys’ pockets of $500, but See explained that he was not flouting that rule for kicks, but it came more as a moment of impulse.
He said a lot of pent-up angst and self-doubt had been building up in the young man’s mind leading up to the race, with so many knockers saying it was sheer folly for an 1100m-1200m typecast sprinter to run in an 1700m race straight-up even if it was over his pet Polytrack surface.
After fielding those naysayers all week, Troy could only keep his feelings bottled up, praying he and trainer John O’Hara had not erred in their calculations, or he could see more jibes on the way.
For a fleeting moment, it looked like his prayers would not be answered – and his theory would go unvindicated - when Castor was not quickening up at the 300m as race-leader Pachelbel's Canon (Nooresh Juglall) knocked up, even after enjoying an ideal ground-saving run in fifth on the rails.
All hopes looked dashed when the momentum kept swinging the other way with Squire Osbaldeston (Vlad Duric) noticeably ghosting past runners with a storming run on the inside.
But See’s faith in Castor was finally repaid when the game gelding suddenly went through his gears at the right moment to gun down Squire Osbaldeston by 1 ¾ lengths. Bring Money Home (Michael Rodd) ran third another three parts of a length away. The winning time was 1min 45.48secs for the 1700m on the Polytrack.
“I waved the whip before the line, not because I was out to celebrate, but more like I had a point to prove,” said See as he gets his chance to aim a comeback at his detractors.
“I’ve been feeling so down with all the negative remarks about that switch from sprint to a longer trip. They thought we were mad, but it goes to show John and I are the ones who know the horse better.
“We could have got it wrong, but tonight we got it right, and it’s a great moment to savour. It was a combination of my gut feel and John’s hard work in injecting stamina into the horse.
“As I predicted, we got a slower cruising speed than the sprints where he had been struggling to keep up with the speed lately, and all I had to do was bide my time.
“For a second, it looked like he hit a flat spot, but I think that was because he felt lost going around two turns for the first time. When he went, he just went and it was such a great feeling.
“I won’t say we are geniuses after tonight, but it was a big gamble, and it sure feels good when it goes your way.”
Though not as jubilant as his apprentice jockey, the soft-spoken O’Hara was in his own way lapping up that training coup of sorts.
“We always knew he was looking for more ground, but I thought 17 was a bit far. As there was no mile race, we had to take a chance,” said the Singaporean handler.
“He’s a horse with a stack of ability. Now that we know he can get a trip, it opens up doors to more options.”
A previous five-time winner over distances ranging between 1000m and 1100m, Castor was at his sixth success and has now taken his earnings past the $380,000 mark for the IB Racing Stable.
