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Tough-as-nails stayer War Time made it a hat-trick of wins on Sunday when he came with a sustained run to land the $60,000 Open Benchmark 67 race over 1800m.
Lined up in a small five-horse field, War Time who registered his first two wins from the front, came from off the pace this time to have a last crack at the leaders before getting the upperhand of Spot On (David Flores) by half-a-length.
Mauritian jockey Nooresh Juglall has now established a perfect record with the Danasinga six-year-old, having scored three wins from as many rides.
Trainer Leslie Khoo praised Juglall for his “smart ride” especially as the instructions were to lead, but he eventually settled in fourth one off the fence.
“The jockey was smart enough to make the right decision. He was supposed to lead, but when he saw they were going too fast, he dropped off,” said Khoo, himself a former leading jockey.
“It’s always tricky when you have those small fields, but he was in a good spot throughout. I was not worried he was on the outside as he’s a big horse and prefers to be out there with plenty of galloping room.
“Some people were worried by the 59kgs, but he won with 57kg last time out and like I said, he’s a big horse and can carry weights.
“He’s a one-pacer and that’s the way to ride him. He’s bred to stay, the longer the better.
“I guess we could start thinking about the Singapore Gold Cup (2200m in November), and even the Raffles Cup (1800m).
“He will need to pick up on his ratings, though, but hopefully he can get in at a low weight in the Gold Cup. For now, I will look around for those 2000m races for him.”
Juglall, who was the pilot of one of the early favourites for the $1.35 million Group 1 Longines Singapore Gold Cup on November 16, winning debutant Alexandra Palace two weeks ago, lauded War Time as a bright staying prospect in no uncertain terms.
“This horse is getting better and better. He is a genuine stayer and won another great race,” said Juglall.
“My plan was to lead, but at the last minute, I decided to take a sit. When Corey (Brown on Alfonso, who was War Time’s joint $14 favourite) took the lead, I was happy to follow him as he was to me the horse to beat.
“When I saw Spot On take him on, I was smiling. I knew then my horse had a great chance, but I had to get busy on him from the 500m as I didn’t want them to outsprint me.
“He tries so hard this horse. He gave a nice kick in the end and I’m very happy I’ve now won three races in a row with him.”
Raced by the Empress Wu Stable, War Time has now brought his record to six wins from 21 starts for stakes earnings in excess of $230,000.