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Despite his name, FORTUNE
WINNER has not been as lucky as her name may suggest.
In six previous starts, the
Argentine filly has found one to beat four times.
But her luck, as well as
that her rider Mario Esposito, changed at Kranjinhere tonight tonight when
she scored a comfortable win in the Gingerbread Man 2011 Stakes (Initiation)
over 1600m.
Parked towards the rear
bunch early, the three-year-old was still well back at the home turn but
unleashed a terrific burst of speed to win drawing away by one-and-a-quarter
lengths.
It was the first taste of
success for Italian jockey Esposito who began his Singapore stint on May 1,
a month later than anticipated, and is scheduled to stay in Singapore until
the end of September.
"I’m very happy as I am
enjoying my first win here in Singapore," said Esposito.
Born in Milan, Esposito, 40, has been a jockey for 24
years during which he netted in excess of 1,700 wins, including more than 90
"black type" races with seven at Group 1 level, all in Italy. Of note are
his two Group 1 Premio Roma wins aboard SLICIOUS (1995) and SHIBUNY’S FALCON
(2001) in Rome, the Group 1 Italian Derby (2003) aboard OSORIO in Rome and
the Group 1 Gran Criterium (1994) astride GOLDEN GLENSTAL in Milan.
Other than Italy, Esposito has also ridden in
Switzerland, Monaco, Mauritius and Japan where he rode last year for three
months, scoring 11 wins including one in a listed race.
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