French jockey Olivier Placais was at his “conducting” best when he lifted Big Banker home in a driving finish on Friday night.
Trapped behind a wall of horses, the Rothesay four-year-old had all the exits shut out at the 300m, and even when he finally found the key, he still had the job ahead to hit the line first.
Upfront and a few lengths ahead, Masurao (Derreck David) and Tiger Bay(Amirul Ismadi) were locked in a close contest and showing no signs of giving up, but Placais is not known for saying “au revoir” too early.
Wielding his stick with his right hand in his atypical high arm-flinging action, hence his nickname “The Conductor”, Placais was riding like a man possessed, throwing everything at Big Banker bar the sink, in a bid to reel in Masurao and Tiger Bay.
Lumping the steadier of 59kgs, Big Banker ($40) whacked away at the margin to eventually sneak on the inside of Masurao and gain a hard-fought victory by half-a-length. Masurao edged out Tiger Bay by a nose.
The winning time was 1min 37.6secs for the 1600m on the Long Course.
“The horse was in good form, but we won on Polytrack at his last start. I checked his grass form, and it was ordinary,” said Placais.
“But I thought he won so easily at his last start that he couldn’t be without a chance in this.
“I rode him further back than I usually do, and I had plenty of horse coming into the straight.
“But I was running into dead ends at the 400, I couldn’t move, and for a while I thought we were gone. In hindsight, I think that time when we got held up probably got us the win, as it enabled me to conserve his ‘influx’, his momentum for the last 300m.
“When I saw daylight, there were two horses two or three lengths in front, but I could hear Derreck and Amirul screaming their heads off. I was homing in well and I was like hang on guys, I’ve got something for you.
“My horse went through his gears inside the last 150m, and it was a great feeling when we got there first.
“He may be a Class 5 horse but he showed his big heart tonight. Alwin and the boys had him prepared to perfection two weeks after his last run.
“Here, I take the opportunity to thank Alwin and the owners, Mr Chua (Eight Eight One Stable) for their support. They’ve played a big part in my success here.”
Tan, who with that latest win has extended his lead to 11 wins on Patrick Shaw and looks home and hosed for his first Singapore champion trainer title, has indeed been one of Placais’ staunchest supporters since his Kranji comeback in June. The former Andre Fabre apprentice jockey rode in Singapore at two separate periods (2002 and 2009-2012) to tally up a haul of 81 winners all-up.
Already a fan of the man from Angers at his second stint, Tan was the one who supplied his first winner Chase this term on June 19, and has since added another nine from his total of 17 winners.
“Olivier is a very strong rider and we have formed a good partnership together. He gives me a big helping hand at the stable and I support him where I can,” said Tan.
“It was his power in the saddle that got this horse home tonight.”
Big Banker has now taken his record to three wins and five placings from 20 starts for prizemoney closing in on the $90,000 mark.
