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Good things clearly come in pairs as Alwin Tan followed his Stewards’ Cup one-two finish with yet another quinella led by Smart People in the $80,000 Class 3 Big Maverick 2007 Stakes over 1200m.
The Singaporean trainer had already pocketed the previous race, the Group 2 Stewards’ Cup with his 2014 Horse of the Year War Affair coming in first, closely followed by his stablemate Happy Money.
Tan came into this race with three entries - Smart People (Oscar Chavez), Gato Negro (Mohd Zaki) and Laser Storm (Shafiq Rizuan).
Smart People was running well in Malaysia and the owner was keen to get him trained and compete in Kranji.
“He was originally from Malaysia and the owner called me up and told me the horse had a lot of potential,” said the Singaporean conditioner.
“He wanted me to train him to run races here so we brought him across the Causeway.
“He had his first run on Polytrack and he looked lost then. He did much better at his second run on turf, where he finished second. Because of that, I had high expectations of him today and expected a good result."
In spite of Oscar Chavez being called upon to mount Smart People for the first time, he still started the race as $16 favourite. And the brown gelding did not disappoint.
He had a strong jump from barrier six and was right in the mix from the start, sharing the lead with Gato Negro, Rising Empire (Koh Teck Huat) and Lim’s Rally (Soo Khoon Beng), before taking sole custody of the driving seat as they headed into the bend. At the same time, Assertive Lad (Corey Brown) ran two-wide without cover to stay just behind the leader.
As the field straightened, Smart People started to pull away with Gato Negro hot on his heels in second place. Lim’s Rally threatened to unseat the leaders with a run through the middle of the pack but could only keep pace in third. Laser Storm left it late to make his move and almost made it a trifecta for Tan, only to run out of gas with 100m to go.
Smart People won the race comfortably in 1min 10.74secs. His stablemate Gato Negro was next to cross the post a length and a half behind. Lim’s Rally took third place just a nose away.
“Oscar did a fantastic job on the horse,” said Tan.
“There wasn’t much pace in the race. So we felt it was best to start quickly and try to lead early.
“It was a good win but we will continue to keep the trips short.
“I will discuss with Oscar (Chavez) to seek his opinion on the ride today before deciding Smart People’s next race.”
Chavez was all praise for the Duke Of Marmalade four-year-old.
“His jump was fantastic,” said the jockey from Panama. “He didn’t even need me out there.
“We decided to lead early and with the ground wet from the passing shower, it made sense to lead as early as possible.
“There wasn’t a shred of worry all the way. Once he took off, he was just too good for the rest.”
This race saw all three of Tan’s entries finishing in the top four, narrowly missing the trifecta with Lim’s Rally spoiling the party.