New Zealand import and Singapore Derby prospect Time Lord made amends from his debut defeat with a smart come-from-behind win on Sunday.

Seventh at his first Kranji outing in a race which saw his rider, apprentice jockey Mohd Firdaus subsequently suspended for three months for failing to ride to the satisfaction of the Stewards, the Guillotine four-year-old turned in a performance which was more in line with the ability he showed at his previous racing career in New Zealand and Queensland, including outings in Group company.

Ridden by Glen Boss in replacement of Azhar Ismail (stood down by order of the Stewards) in the $70,000 Class 3 Division 1 race over 1200m, the previous two-time winner (one win in New Zealand and one win in Australia) had the race shot to pieces when he sprang out of the pack at the 250m to settle a hotly-contested struggle to the line.

After showing plenty of cheek by taking the lead from the outset, smokie Elise (Iskandar Rosman) gave the impression he could go all the way, but Time Lord ($66) swooped down with a solid dash inside the last 50m to land the spoils by one length from Elise.

Favourite Pennywise (Nooresh Juglall) had every chance when he launched down the middle at the 400m, but his finish was a little on the dour side. The Argentinian-bred three-year-old by Pure Prize could only finish third another half-length away. The winning time was 1min 12.24secs for the 1200m on the Polytrack.

Walker was delighted Time Lord had redeemed himself with that second-up victory, but he said it was owed mainly to the jockey’s mastery in the saddle.

“It was a gun ride. He had to push one out of the way, but it’s the rider who won the race,” said the Kiwi trainer.

“He was bought for the Derby, that’s the whole idea, but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves as the Derby is only in July.

“He’s raced by a good New Zealand owner, Matthew Goodson, and he ran some Group races in New Zealand and Brisbane during the Winter Carnival.

“He didn’t quite measure up in Brisbane, but he’s a horse with a lot of upside. It’s a little hard to get a line on his first-up run.

“It’s also a bit hard to get a line on the Polytrack form. In the earlier races, it seemed to favour on-pace runners and later on, it seemed to suit swoopers.”

Boss gave a big thumbs-up to Time Lord, using the way he beat Pennywise rather easily as his reference for the appraisal.

“Pennywise is a proven horse here and he passed him quickly,” said the Australian jockey who was enjoying his best Singapore start since moving to Kranji in 2016, having now already won three races to take the lead on the premiership.

“From the draw (11), he was always going to be ridden like that – back in the field. He got into a position and found plenty in the end.”