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Hong Kong-bound SPALATO got
the perfect send-off when he romped to a record-breaking win in the
S$125,000 Luzerne Cup (1200m) at Kranji here today, and stretched his
unbeaten run to six.
A change rider to Sydney
champion jockey James McDonald, who replaced the injured (wrist) Manoel
Nunes, did not prevent the New Zealand five-year-old coasting home by four
lengths in a time of 1min. 8.15secs., slicing 0.59 second off the previous
best set by FAALTLESS on the long course six weeks ago. FAALTLESS finished
second today.
It was a remarkable effort
for SPALATO who won the Patrons' Bowl (1600m) last June followed by the
Emirates Singapore Derby (2000m) a month later.
Since his return to racing
after a short break, he has won both his two starts over 1200m this month.
SPALATO, trained by John
O'Hara, will head to Hong Kong to contest the Group 2 Jockey Club Sprint
(1200m) on Nov 23 and his ultimate tarest, the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint
(1200m) in December.
"He was very impressive
again. We haven’t got to the bottom of him yet," O'Hara said of his win
today.
McDonald, who was on a
one-day visit to ride STEPITUP in the Raffles Cup (finishing third), also
picked up a winning ride on AFTERNOON DELIGHT (again replacing Nunes).
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