SINGAPORE:  Sep 22, 2019

MAKANANI was unplaced in eight attempts at group races before finishing second to I'M INCREDIBLE in the Group 3 Committee's Prize (1600m) last month.

That first placing in a black type event was the stepping stone to greater things for the Japanese mare, and she showed that at Kranji here today when she won the Group 1 Raffles Cup (1600m) in a nail-biting finish.

Marc Lerner, who scored on MAKANANI in a Class 2 event two starts back, had the mare in midfield and timed his run to perfection to score by a nose in blanket finish. Less than four lengths separated the first and 10th 10 horses past the post.

The runner-up MR CLINT, second in to SUN MARSHAL in the Singapore Derby last July, was distinctly unlucky has his rider had to switch him around the heels of horses twice in the home stretch and was doing best work at the finish.

MAKANANI, purchased by her owner for 1,620,000 Yen as a yearling, has now won seven times in 29 starts.

For Lerner, it was his first Group 1 win in his career which began seven years ago. He rode in France, US and Germany before coming to Singapore.

"At the top of the straight, I had a lapful under me and I knew she would be right there at the finish. She fought her heart out, it was all her heart that got her over the line," said Lerner who thought MR CLINT had clinched the race on the outside.

"I’ve been in Singapore for more one year now, and at one stage, I felt like going back to Germany or France. If not for Mr Takaoka, I would have gone back.

"When Olivier Placais left Singapore at the end of last year, he recommended me to Takaoka as their rider and he’s supported me since. Things have picked up since and we’ve had many winners together."