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Comeback galloper Coronet Peak notched his fourth win in a row when successful in the $75,000 Kranji Stakes C over 1200m on the Polytrack on Friday night.
Ridden by Alan Munro, Coronet Peak scored a fighting neck victory over Single Act (Shafiq Rizuan) with Machfive (Saifudin Ismail) a length-and-a-quarter away third.
Coronet Peak spent 22 months on the sidelines after fracturing a sesamoid which required two operations before the gelding could return to racetrack.
"He fractured a sesamoid and had an operation in which he was pinned and required eight months off,” said trainer David Hill.
“We put him back into work but he kept going lame so we sent him off for x-rays again. What occurred was the pin had caused a fracture in the sesamoid again so he needed another operation to pull the pin out and then he had another 10 months off.
"In total he had 22 months off. He’s a class act and he’s not done with yet. I’d love to get him up to a mile (1600m) as I think that trip and maybe even further will suit him.
“I really thought he was a Derby horse before he hurt himself. I’d like to give him a bit of a break now, but I’m just worried that he might get too full of himself.”
Coronet Peak had to do it the tough way. He worked outside of the leader Kaiser (Soo Khoon Beng) before taking over coming off the back.
He still held sway turning for home and the field fanned, giving firstly Super Good (Corey Brown) and Perfect Charger (Oscar Chavez) the opportunity to attack.
But at the 200m mark Coronet Peak found another gear and kicked clear of that pair before holding off a late charge down the outside of Single Act who was having his first start in Singapore after 10 starts in New Zealand.
Munro was full of praise for not only Coronet Peak but also for Hill and his daughter, assistant trainer Sam, who have resurrected the career of the six-year-old with their patience.
“Full credit to David and Sammy for the job they have done with getting this horse back,” said Munro.
“He’s a good horse. He stays on and he’s also a quick horse, but he is a bit of a worry also.
“I love him. He’s quite a heavy horse that hits the ground quite hard which is a bit of a worry with the problem that he had, but he also attacks the bridle really hard and you have to love that.”
A six-year-old South African-bred by Kahal from Clair Anne, Coronet Peak broke his maiden status when successful over 1200m on September 1 and had won twice in Class 4 grade before his success on Friday night.
