Pacific Vampire again ruthless

If there is one horse who does not take a long time between drinks, it has to be Pacific Vampire.

Three weeks after a slashing debut in Class 4 company, the Jason Ong-trained four-year-old son of Impending was back for another thirst-quencher.

While he romped in by 2½ lengths after breaking from barrier No. 1 at his Kranji introduction on April 6, the outermost alley in the $70,000 Class 3 race (1,200m) on April 27 barely put a dent in his bid for a second dose.

Under Bruno Queiroz – who took over from debut partner Jerlyn Seow – Pacific Vampire ($9) did not quite draw first blood once his gate No. 11 flew open.

Noted for having an abundance of early speed, too, stablemate Pacific Hero (Seow) was actually the best away. But, the moment Queiroz sent out the cues to put some daylight behind, Pacific Vampire immediately went hell for leather to the lead.

From that point onwards, a one-horse race was all but a foregone conclusion, even if he was still running on raw ability.

Had his Brazilian jockey not kept him under a chokehold, he might have done a “Pride Of Jenni”.

Australia’s bold front runner was clear by a canyon-like gap of 30 lengths midway through the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2,000m) at Randwick racecourse on April 13, but still lasted in what is now dubbed the “Run of the Century”.

Queiroz finally gave himself a chance to keep his arms when he released the handbrake at the 300m, but not before cheekily taking a peek between his legs, and going for another one 100m later.

Ejaz’s (Manoel Nunes) Al-Arabiya blue silks would have been the only shades of danger, but they were receding more than they were approaching.

From then, Queiroz was just a passenger – enjoying a first-class seat all the way to touchdown, 3½ lengths clear of Ejaz.

Pacific Vampire stopped the clock in 1min 08.16sec.

Watching the procession from the stands, Ong must have also lived the armchair ride vicariously.

“I’m happy to see him take a seat because he was quite fresh at his first race,” said the leading and reigning Singapore champion trainer.

“With the three-week gap, we tried to teach him to relax.

“Credit to Bruno and Jerlyn, who have spent a lot of time and effort to teach him to relax.

“Things have panned out really well today, over 1,200m and on turf.

“I know he raced on turf in Australia, but it was the other way of racing (clock-wise) in Sydney.”

Ong has yet to get rid of that anomaly to his outright dominance in the last two seasons, a trophy-less cabinet, but may well hold his best chance in the upcoming four-year-old series.

They are still some time away, with the Group 3 Silver Bowl (1,400m) due only on June 9, followed by the Group 2 Stewards’ Cup (1,600m) on June 30 and the grand final, the Group 1 Singapore Derby (1,800m), on July 21.

But Ong, who honed his craft in Australia, knows that in order to head in that direction, Pacific Vampire still needs to pass a few tests.

The level-headed young man is actually letting all the rave reviews about his horse go over his head.

“He’s a nice horse in the making,” came the measured statement from the 35-year-old handler, whose father Ong Boon Hin owned Kranji legend War Affair.

“He passed the 1,200m test today. I think he should be able to get 1,400m and 1,600m.

“But, one step at a time. If he gets to 1,600m, then we’ll know about the 1,800m.”

Queiroz sounded a little more upbeat about those uncharted waters.

“When he learns how to relax, he will get 1,400m and 1,600m, no problem,” he said.

“I actually know this horse well. I started working on him before I went back to Brazil.

“Jerlyn then rode him and, when I came back, I started riding him again.

“Thank you to Jason and the owners, he’s a very good horse.”

The Rio de Janeiro rider is currently locked in a stirring battle with Nunes in the jockeys’ premiership.

The 22-year-old booted home a double, thanks to Hasten earlier, but his fellow Brazilian, who is 26 years his senior, hit back with Split Second and Hurricane.

As a result, Queiroz maintains his lead on 30 winners, three clear of Nunes.

manyan@sph.com.sg