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It’s been a long time between drinks, but OM finally bounced back to the winner’s circle on Sunday, 20 months after the last of his three previous wins was recorded.
Not too long ago, the Darci Brahma five-year-old was among one of Mark Walker’s most exciting prospects, rapidly rising from maiden to Class 3 company courtesy of three wins all under Singapore four-time champion jockey Joao Moreira.
But the wins soon dried up even if he was seldom disgraced. A surge of form around June-July last year with Manoel Nunes the pilot suggested he might have turned the corner, but an enforced layoff due to some knee issues was the next glitch to halt his prep.
Walker did not despair. He treated the knee and his patience was finally rewarded with a smart win in the $60,000 Open Benchmark 67 race over 1600m, a distance he was only tackling for the third time (no success at previous two) in his 24 starts.
Settled in mid-division on the rails, OM ($15) improved from the corner and gradually pulled the ground off the leaders to burst clear at the 200m. Felarof (A’Isisuhairi Kasim) looked a threat when he won’t quite go away on the rails, but OM did not shirk the fight and held him off by a healthy margin of two lengths.
High Troja (David Flores), who lost his position shortly after straightening up, came back again to pip Felarof for second by a nose. The winning time was 1min 35.18secs for the 1600m on the Long Course.
OM’s win consolidates Walker’s spot at the top of the heap as he is now on 12 wins, two clear of Leslie Khoo. Walker’s assistant-trainer Gus Clutterbuck said a win over the mile is always a positive for any horse on the up.
“The boss will be happy and I’m also very happy he’s won as it’s been a while. He’s run heaps of places and he deserves to win,” said the Kiwi horseman.
“He was not strong enough to win over the mile before. He’s also had some knee issues and that’s all behind him now.
“But it was good to see him win over the mile today as he’s not been able to win over 1200m and it gets increasingly hard to find a race for him. Manoel has ridden a few winners for us now, and he gets a 10-out-of-10 for this ride.”
The leading jockey, whose 25 winners include nine for Walker and who is already at a double having scored earlier on the Laxon-trained Dylan in the opening race, said he rode OM closer to the lead than usual and it has paid handsome dividends.
“I rode him a lot handier today as there was not much pace. I wasn’t that worried, though, as it was over the Long Course,” he said.
“He won easily in the end and it was good to be back on him a winner as I did finish second on him at my last ride on him last year.”
Previously owned by New Zealand philanthropist Sir Owen Glenn, OM is now raced by the Za Racing Stable, and has now brought his earnings close to the $250,000 mark.