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Leading trainer Jason Ong gladly took the win in the $50,000 Laughing Gravy 2016 Stakes (1200m), even if it swung in the way of $132 longshot Pacific Master instead of his stablemate and favourite, Wins One.
With only two wins on the Polytrack and two placings in 17 starts previously to show for, Pacific Master was understandably neglected by most in the betting pools while Wins One, who consistently figured in the top three this year, was tipped as the favourite to score.
But races were not meant to be run on paper.
Once the gates flung open in the Class 4 Division 2 race, Wins One (Bruno Queiroz) was bustled up to the front from his wide barrier eight alongside Charminton (Manoel Nunes) and Ong's third runner in the field, Pacific Commander (Jerlyn Seow), before Charminton was slightly eased into second between Ong's pair of frontrunners on the field.
Pacific Master (Daniel Moor) was a length behind Charminton in midfield as the field turned for home. Wins One poked his head in front at the 300m but could not pull away from the rest. Fire (Bernardo Pinheiro) sneaked up on the rails at the 250m while Charminton and Pacific Master made ground on the outside.
Although Fire and Charminton came under soon after, Pacific Master was still closing in with every stride in the final 100m before the Snitzel five-year-old lunged in time to get up with a short head to spare.
Charminton hung on to finish another three parts of a length away in third. The winning time was 1 min 10.39secs for the 1200m on the Long Course.
Pacific Master's first win on the turf did not surprise Ong entirely, given the in-and-out performer once ran second in a Class 3 race in February over the same trip and surface.
"Daniel gets on well with this horse. He's (Pacific Master) been racing pretty well and worked well, so I expected him to run a good race," said the Singaporean conditioner.
"This horse had some issues with his feet, that's why he has been a bit inconsistent. But big credit to the (Singapore Turf) Club's farriers, Paul Summers and Gary Morley because they got him right.
"I was expecting the favourite (Wins One) to run a good race as well, so it's nice to see them finish head-to-head.
"It's nice to get a 1-2 and I'm very happy for the owners too."
Despite not having any runners in the $300,000 Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (1800m) which was eventually won by the Daniel Meagher-trained Lim's Kosciuszko (see later report), Ong's winning momentum saw no signs of slowing down with his hat-trick of wins on Saturday.
Besides Pacific Master, Lucky Goal ($20) took out the opener in the $30,000 Hongkong Great 2023 Stakes, a Class 5 race (1200m) before Silver Dragon ($39) saluted in the $30,000 Top Knight 2020 Stakes, a Class 5 Division 1 race (1400m) three races later.
The treble brought Ong's season tally to 74 wins, 31 more than the second-placed Meagher, so the reigning champion trainer is only four meetings away from winning the title a second time. But, mathematically, his Australian counterpart could still turn the tables around if he clocks in 32 more wins while Ong fires blanks.
Moor, who currently sits ninth on the jockeys' log with 12 wins, should be less concerned about where he lands on the premiership table but thought Pacific Master was unlucky at his last-start ninth in a Class 4 race (1200m) on 25 August.
"It's been a while (since my last win) but it's good," said the Australian hoop, whose last win was on the Ong-trained Pacific Star on 11 August.
"I thought his (Pacific Master) last run was excellent but he was shuffled back. I thought if we could hold him in a more forward position, he'd be hard to beat.
"We sat him a bit closer this time. The pace wasn't that strong but he travelled nicely and that was a good finish.
"At the top of the straight, he'd quickened like he was the winner. The second horse (Wins One) was brave but mine was probably a bit classier."
With three wins in 18 starts, Pacific Master has taken his earnings to close to $110,000 for the Pacific Stable.
