Nooresh Juglall was glad trainer Leslie Khoo took on board his pleas to stretch Mongolian Chief in distance following a smart win from the jet-black gelding over 1700m on Friday night.
The black Alamosa four-year-old has never ventured beyond seven furlongs at his previous 11 starts, but the Mauritian jockey, who has partnered him a few times, including a storming second from the rear in a 1200m race last September, was adamant the mile would suit him better.
The Singaporean handler shared the same thought, especially going on the gelding’s pedigree. After spotting Friday’s $60,000 Class 4 race over 1700m on Polytrack, he knew he had the ideal event to test the theory, never mind if it was 100m longer.
Dropped back at the rear in the small nine-horse field, Mongolian Chief ($44) was ridden cold ahead of the two main fancies Certainly (Michael Rodd) and Smart Vintage (Vlad Duric) from the start.
As race-leader Cordoba (Anandan Subramanian) increased the tempo, Certainly and Smart Vintage began their runs out wide, but Juglall wisely decided to stay glued to the rails.
The moment Eclair Fiesta (Erasmus Aslam) rolled off, a large gap opened up, and the race was all over bar the shouting in a matter of a few strides. Mongolian Chief exhibited an electric turn of foot not many thought he had before, streaking away to an emphatic three-length win from Cordoba, who held on for second place by a neck from Eclair Fiesta.
Certainly loomed as a good thing when he let down on the outside upon straightening, but it proved to be a short-lasting spark which eventually saw him fizzle out to a tame fourth place another neck away. The winning time was 1min 47.18secs for the 1700m on the Polytrack.
“Based on his breeding, I thought he should be able to stay. Juglall was also keen to test him over more ground,” said Khoo.
“I put the crossover noseband and the blinker-pacifiers back on him tonight and I think that helped him, too.
“I think he can go even further than 1700m. He’s no champion, but he can be a useful horse to us in such races.”
Juglall said it was that flying second over 1200m that convinced him Mongolian Chief was wasting his time over sprints.
“I told Mr Khoo to try him over longer, and it’s finally paid off,” said Juglall.
“He doesn’t have enough speed over 1200m, and when Mr Khoo told me there was a 1700m race available, I told him to go for it.
“My only concern was that he was directly stepping up from 1200m to 1700m, and he was going around two turns for the first time, but he relaxed beautifully for me.
“I know he has a nice turn of foot and he didn’t disappoint when I went for him at the top of the straight. He was still a bit green but he won in style tonight.
“A big thank you to Mr Khoo for putting me on and for putting him over more distance. I hope he can win more races.”
With that second win in 12 starts, Mongolian Chief has now taken his stakes earnings past the $80,000 mark for his connections.
