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Champion Malaysian owner
Beh Chin Pheng's decision to send SPEED BABY to continue racing in
Singapore, after the gelding had won six times in eights starts in Malaysia,
paid dividends when the four-year-old won the age group contest, the
$500,000 Patrons' Bowl over 1600m at Kranji here today.
It was the third outing in
Singapore for SPEED BABY (Fastnet Rock - Twisted Heart by Distorted Humor),
now trained by Steven Burridge.
In the first leg of the
Singapore four-year-old series, the Group 2 Stewards' Cup (1400m) earlier
this month, SPEEDY BABY showed a glimpse of his Malaysian form when he
finished third to JAMAL MALIK.
Stepping up on that effort,
SPEED BABY came with a sustained effort to defeat the odds-on favourite, top
Singapore four-year-old BETTER THAN EVER by a neck to pay $95 for a win.
Beh had paid A$280,000 for
SPEED BABY at the 2008 Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
His last appearance in
Malaysia was when he braved heavy rain to win the Coronation Cup last
November by seven and three quarters lengths.
It was jockey Azhar Ismail,
who won three times on SPEED BABY in Malaysia, who recommended the owner to
send the gelding down south. "I’ve
always known he had the qualities to compete in Singapore,” said Azhar who
took the ride today after missing out on his last two runs.
It's
the second big win in Singapore this year for Azhar who has not been riding
regularly at Kranji in recent years, after his success on FATKID in
the Queen Elizabeth II Cup last April. "I’ve
always loved Singapore and I will definitely come down here more often," he
said.
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