3 minute read

Trainer Desmond Koh had only one name in mind while looking for a new teacher who could send the talented but wayward Simply The Best back to school – Joao Moreira.

Not so much for the Brazilian's penchant to ride winners by the spades (381 and counting, including 43 this year, barely two months into the season) but more for a facet he is less known for – horsemanship.

“Joao won on him at debut and I remember he already had barrier problems back then, but somehow he eventually got it right,” said Koh.

“I decided to get Joao back on him hoping he could fix that problem – as he did at his debut. It's taken a lot of hard work from Joao but it has paid off and I'd like to thank him for the amazing job he's done with this horse.”

Undeniably smart from the first day he stepped out on a racetrack (winning debut on August 6, 2010 with who else but Moreira aboard), Simply The Best has however been anything but a simple horse to train.

The headstrong sprinter has always been a handful at the barriers – and in his races - but his raw ability still saw him notch four wins, all scored over 1200m on both turf and Polytrack.

The son of Stratum however saw his winning streak come unstuck when pitted against the best three-year-olds in the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge last year, with a third in the Group 3 3YO Sprint as his only result of note.

The rot then set in at the third Leg (Singapore Guineas) when he got stirred up in the barriers and came home dead last, about 24 lengths off the winner Gingerbread Man.

It was high time for a break, thought Koh. The Paiza Stable-owned galloper was given a seven-month spell only to be brought back at the end of the year (December 11), which resulted in an encouraging fourth to Won't Stop under jockey Mark Ewe, but not without leaving Koh still shaking his head over his unmended barrier manners.

That was when Koh decided it was time for “Magic” - as he is nicknamed - Moreira to work his spell on his recalcitrant ward.

“After Joao fixed his problem earlier on in his career, he seemed okay but the trick then became old,” said Koh. “He was coming up with new tricks, like nowadays he doesn't like people to touch him.

“It's taken about a month for Joao to get him right this time. He failed two tests but he then passed the last two.

“Joao can now get him in without any handlers!”

The reschooling did not get off to the best of starts, though. At their first barrier trial on January 25, Simply The Best was scratched at the gates after he refused to be loaded and his bridle even came off, but things slowly picked up thereafter.

He duly won the next one on February 2, but was white-carded as he had again played up when he reared and sat back in the gates.

But then, by some miracle, he walked in like a lamb at his next two trials, even winning the latest one on February 16 by four lengths – to earn his rights to race again this Friday.

Deflecting all praise as he usually does, Moreira said he was no horse whisperer, but a great dose of patience in identifying the root cause of the horse's phobia of the gates was the key to the transformation.

“It's no secret. He's just a very smart horse and doesn't like someone to hold the bit and lead him to the gates,” said Moreira who takes the ride aboard Simply The Best in Friday's $75,000 Class 3 race over 1200m.

“The first time, he was really freaked out, reared and the bridle came off. I then kept working him around the back and I then decided to load him in without any handlers at his next trial.

“All I had to do was work on the bit and give him the right cues until he walked right in. It was totally perfect as I didn't even have to whack him.

“Otherwise, he is fit and had a nice gallop last Tuesday. He's not facing an easy field on Friday, but he has loads of ability, and I'm sure he'll run well.”

Koh is for his part keeping his fingers crossed the barrier rogue will be a “starter”, rather than guessing in which position he will cross the finishing line on Friday.

“Fitness-wise, he is probably only three-quarters there as it's his first race after a layoff,” he said.

“He should be fit enough as we've given him quite a few barrier trials, but we need to grind him to fitness and he may need a few more races.

“I just want to get a race under his belt first and then decide where to take him from there.

“I am keeping my fingers crossed he will be a starter first. Or else it's back to the drawing board.”