A group of kiwis went to
31,000 guineas to secure CAPTAIN McCAW as a yearling and named him after All
Blacks captain Richie McCaw.
But they failed to find
success with the gelding in England. Instead, the English bred was an
instant hit in Singapore after trainer Laurie Laxon secured him for 10,000
guineas at the conclusion of his two-year-old season during which he started
five times for a second over 1207m at Wolverhampton.
Now raced by three of his
former owners and Laxon, CAPTAIN McCAW, ridden by Joao Moreira, showed
fighting qualities when he wore down the front-running SHIPPING FORECAST to
win by a head in his Kranji debut in the Initiation - 1200m sprint on the
polytrack here tonight.
CAPTAIN MCCAW is by the
former Australian sprinter EXCEED AND EXCEL from the English mare OUR SHEILA
which coincidentally is the name of Laxon's wife. OUR SHEILA herself failed
to win as a two-year-old but blossomed at three, reeling off four
consecutive wins.
Now, CAPTAIN McCAW has
started his three-year-old campaign off to the best possible start. "He’s a
smart type of horse and he did a pretty good job tonight," said Laxon.
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