KELANTAN CAPTURES $450,000
“About -700m from home, I knew he could take me into the race and he justkeptgiving in the straight.” JBBA Trophy-winning jockey Ronnie Stewart
QUALITY galloper Kelantan is a horse going places.
The Stephen Gray-trained Nex7lEealand-bred showed that with a gutsy win in the $450,000 Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association (JBBA) Trophy in Race 8 at Kranji yesterday. Mildly supported, he paid $53 for the win.
Ridden by Australian jockey Ronnie Stewart, Kelantan moved up beautifully like a good horse in the straight to nab $411 chance Music Master by:;/, -length in the domestic Group 2 race over 1,600m.
Itmaybeyou, winner of the second leg of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge over 1,400m last month in which Kelantan ran fifth, finished a game third, two lengths further back.
Stewart said there was a bit of bustling early but he was happy to sit around midfield with a bit of cover.
Added the bang-in-form lightweight hoop: "About 700m from home, I knew he could take me into the race and he just kept giving in the straight. "
For a fleeting moment, it looked like it was going to be a real big upset when the Hideyuki Takaoka-trained Music Master shot to the lead on straightening and stayed on stubbornly in front.
Said his jockey, John Sundradas: "He tried his best but this was the first time he ran in a Group race. Too bad he couldn't hold on with that kind of weight. He carried 57kg."
Yesterday's JBBA Trophy was the third and final leg of the Three-Year-Old Challenge.
It was the Zaid Ibrahim-owned bay colt's third win in nine Kranji starts. Back in New Zealand, the well-pedigreed Kelantan cost NZ$135,000 ($132,000) as a yearling.
By the fashionable Cape Cross out of the El Gran Senor mare Stever house, he demonstrated vast potential by scoring one of his two successes in a listed race. He ran second in another.
Said trainer Gray: "I dedicate this win to my parents because they had Kelantan back home and sent him up to me.
"It's always nice to be given a good horse to train to win a Cup. It's a great thrill. He's the first Cup horse I've had since Lim's Reward." For the record, Lun's Reward captured the Group 1 Patrons' Boy in June 2003 with jockey Grant Cooksley astride.
While he savoured yesterday's glory, Gray lamented that his good friend, The New Paper's Deputy Racing Editor Danny Khoo, was not on hand to watch his big moment triumph.
He said: "Danny is sick. I wish for a speedy recovery. He has been a good friend and I wished he could here today."
Khoo is hospitalised with a stomach ailment which requires surgery.
Gray has no immediate plans for Kelantan who, being a : three-year-old, still has plenty of scope for improvement.
He said: "I'll just give him a bit freshening up and wait for some weight-for-age races."
But one thing is certain, although he did not say it: Kelantan can be strong force in the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge next year.
“About -700m from home, I knew he could take me into the race and he justkeptgiving in the straight.” JBBA Trophy-winning jockey Ronnie Stewart
QUALITY galloper Kelantan is a horse going places.
The Stephen Gray-trained Nex7lEealand-bred showed that with a gutsy win in the $450,000 Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association (JBBA) Trophy in Race 8 at Kranji yesterday. Mildly supported, he paid $53 for the win.
Ridden by Australian jockey Ronnie Stewart, Kelantan moved up beautifully like a good horse in the straight to nab $411 chance Music Master by:;/, -length in the domestic Group 2 race over 1,600m.
Itmaybeyou, winner of the second leg of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge over 1,400m last month in which Kelantan ran fifth, finished a game third, two lengths further back.
Stewart said there was a bit of bustling early but he was happy to sit around midfield with a bit of cover.
Added the bang-in-form lightweight hoop: "About 700m from home, I knew he could take me into the race and he just kept giving in the straight. "
For a fleeting moment, it looked like it was going to be a real big upset when the Hideyuki Takaoka-trained Music Master shot to the lead on straightening and stayed on stubbornly in front.
Said his jockey, John Sundradas: "He tried his best but this was the first time he ran in a Group race. Too bad he couldn't hold on with that kind of weight. He carried 57kg."
Yesterday's JBBA Trophy was the third and final leg of the Three-Year-Old Challenge.
It was the Zaid Ibrahim-owned bay colt's third win in nine Kranji starts. Back in New Zealand, the well-pedigreed Kelantan cost NZ$135,000 ($132,000) as a yearling.
By the fashionable Cape Cross out of the El Gran Senor mare Stever house, he demonstrated vast potential by scoring one of his two successes in a listed race. He ran second in another.
Said trainer Gray: "I dedicate this win to my parents because they had Kelantan back home and sent him up to me.
"It's always nice to be given a good horse to train to win a Cup. It's a great thrill. He's the first Cup horse I've had since Lim's Reward." For the record, Lun's Reward captured the Group 1 Patrons' Boy in June 2003 with jockey Grant Cooksley astride.
While he savoured yesterday's glory, Gray lamented that his good friend, The New Paper's Deputy Racing Editor Danny Khoo, was not on hand to watch his big moment triumph.
He said: "Danny is sick. I wish for a speedy recovery. He has been a good friend and I wished he could here today."
Khoo is hospitalised with a stomach ailment which requires surgery.
Gray has no immediate plans for Kelantan who, being a : three-year-old, still has plenty of scope for improvement.
He said: "I'll just give him a bit freshening up and wait for some weight-for-age races."
But one thing is certain, although he did not say it: Kelantan can be strong force in the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge next year.
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