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A sensational last-ditch effort saw Wall Street Boy claim the Big Maverick 2008 Stakes in dramatic fashion on Sunday.
The chestnut galloper had spent the bulk of the $80,000 Class 3 race over 1400m at the rear of the 11-horse field and his chances looked dead and buried as he was forced four-wide as the runners turned for home.
But with in-form jockey John Powell in the saddle, the Australian-bred gelding staged an improbable charge over the final furlong to snatch victory by a short head over Terminator (Mark Ewe) with Vectis (Alan Munro) the same slim margin away in third.
With the top-three finishers closely bunched up at the end of a thrilling race, it required a photo finish to determine that Wall Street Boy, who was resuming after a two-month spell, had emerged victorious.
That was the cue for ecstatic celebrations from the Wall Street Boy & Tarnpirr Stable as some members of the winning connections were seen jumping up and down and punching the air in delight after watching the replay.
“That’s what it’s all about,” grinned trainer Cliff Brown. “Even I wasn’t sure if we had won. It’s a great result.”
It was Wall Street Boy’s third victory from seven starts and all have come with Powell aboard. The four-year-old son of Encosta De Lago out of La Lagune has now chalked up close to $130,000 in stakes earnings.
Despite his smart record and the presence of Powell, who notched his 25th winner of the campaign and has an impressive strike rate of 24.5 per cent, support for Wall Street Boy ($33) was surprisingly lukewarm.
“The distance was too short for him, he’s more of a 2000m horse,” explained Brown. “Plus it was his first-up after I sent him to be freshened up.”
There seemed little chance that Wall Street Boy was going to spring any surprises as Terminator stormed into an early lead with class-dropper Gold Run (Ivaldo Santana) giving chase just behind.
The gap between the leaders and Wall Street Boy, who was lagging at the back, had been around five lengths at the halfway mark and insurmountable as he did not seem likely to make up the ground.
And when Powell swung him to the outside as they rounded the final bend, all seemed lost.
“John knows this horse well but I was a bit surprised that he took him out so wide,” said Brown.
He may have had to hold his breath at the finale but his trust in his compatriot was repaid handsomely as the Australian rider had timed his charge to perfection to snatch victory by the slimmest of margins. The winning time on the Long Course was 1min 22.64secs.
Having seen Wall Street Boy return on a winning note, Brown was already looking forward to bigger things for his smart galloper.
“There are a lot more big races down the road for him. I will run him on International Day.”
Held this year on May 18 to conclude the Singapore International Racing Festival, the biggest day in the local racing calendar is headlined by the $3 million Singapore Airlines International Cup and the $1 million KrisFlyer International Sprint, both International Group 1 races.