3 minute read
A daring mid-race move by apprentice Kelvin Ng paid off handsomely when Daring Fighter scored a brave win in the $95,000 Open Benchmark 89 Stakes over 1800m on Friday night.
Photo by Singapore Turf Club
Returning a $78 dividend, Daring Fighter scored by a neck from Forgiven (Barend Vorster) with Michael (Joao Moreira) a length-and-a-quarter away third.
The victory was Ng’s third of the season having previously scored twice aboard Golden Lido for Daring Fighter’s trainer Alvin Tan.
Ng allowed Daring Fighter to roll forward before taking the sit in second position behind Forgiven.
Passing the 800m mark Ng elected to get going on Daring Fighter and by the time the turn was reached had opened a two length lead on Forgiven with the pair five lengths in front of their rivals.
Vorster threw everything at Forgiven to try and peg back the margin, but Daring Fighter kept his fight going all the way to the line.
“This is a big thrill,” said Ng. “It was the decision to race forward and then to make a move at the 800m.
“He has been a bit slow in some of his races so with his light weight it was decided to get him going early.”
Tan praised the winning ride of Ng who summed up the race perfectly.
“I thought the class might have been too strong for him, but he had a lightweight which really helped,” said Tan.
“We decided to take the blinkers off him as well. We are just so lucky to get this win.
“He had been struggling a bit in Class 4 with a bit bigger weight so we threw him in this race and got a light weight.
“I said to the jockey that hopefully we can set the pace and then hope for the best.
“It all worked out for us tonight.”
Daring Fighter had been racing in Class 4 and Kranji C company prior to Friday night’s success, carrying weights of 57kg three starts back and 53.5kg at his past two outings.
A five-year-old New Zealand-bred by Drama Critic from the Kingdom Bay mare Politeness, Daring Fighter has won five of his 32 races with a further seven minor placings and accumulated around $250,000 for the Lucky Rich Stable.