The August leads a 1-2 for Tan

A nice hit-out for Fortune Bowl duo The August and Sacred Gift was the minimum trainer Jerome Tan had been hoping for in the $85,000 Class 2 race over 1,000m on Feb 3.

The Raffles Racing Stable pair over-delivered, with the win not the only bonus. The August and Sacred Gift finished the best and in that order for the stable quinella.

Tan admitted he had not been oozing with a lot of pre-race confidence - a sentiment shared by punters if The August's and Sacred Gift's respective quotes of $81 and $40 were anything to go by.

Renzo, Bransom, Major King and General Command were the main market players, but, in the end, none made up the trifecta. It was another roughie, Illustrious ($124), who completed the podium finish for a juicy tierce payout of $1,581.

The slick timing of 58.25sec - 0.07sec outside Pennywise's class record - did not surprise many given the sizzling early sectionals set by Bransom (Jamil Sarwi), who was flanked by General Command (Manoel Nunes) and Illustrious (Jerlyn Seow) three abreast for most of the way.

Softened up by their cut-throat battle in the lead, Bransom and General Command quickly showed the white flag upon straightening, but not Illustrious.

The grey even gave the fleeting impression he could bounce back to winning ways when he opened up to a commanding break at the 300m.

At that stage, Tan's pair looked like they would settle for the minors, until Illustrious' condition also gave out at the 150m.

With A'Isisuhairi Kasim up, The August, an eight-year-old by I Am Invincible, lengthened up nicely to relegate his stablemate to the runner-up berth 1½ lengths away.

"I couldn't be confident before the race, but it's a good result and we also win good prizemoney for Raffles Racing," said Tan.

"We knew there'd be plenty of pace in a 1,000m race. The August had a good jump and just had to follow the pace, then fire.

"Both horses are entered in the Fortune Bowl. It was like a perfect trial for them."

A'Isisuhairi will, however, jump off The August in the Group 3 race over 1,400m on Feb 11 as he is booked on Ghalib for trainer Steven Burridge.

But the Malaysian jockey still looked back on the win - his third and among his last at Kranji before he takes up a riding contract in South Korea in the coming weeks - as a stroll down memory lane.

"I know this horse well. I won on him once (Oct 25, 2020) at my very first ride on him when he was trained by Lee Freedman," he said.

"I've ridden him a few times (five more) since. I remember he used to be on the speed, and quite promising.

"But today, there was no pressure, no instructions from Jerome. The horse just took me into the race.

"It's always hard to find a race for those horses with a high rating (83). We should not think too much and just keep the horse happy in the run."

The hoop was so laid-back and composed before the race that he was even joking about the speedmap in the parade ring.

"Jerome asked me before the race what did I think. I said we'll go forward, but I was joking," he said.

"I actually knew there would be a lot of speed. I told Jerome he's an older horse now and we should not put too much pressure on him.

"He was nicely balanced throughout the race, there was enough speed. They did slow down halfway, I had Sacred Gift the stablemate on the inside.

"He was struggling to come out while I just held my spot. My horse gave a good finish in the end, and also clocked a good timing."

Another runner possibly backing up in the Fortune Bowl was the Jason Ong-trained Prosperous Return.

The 2022 Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (1,800m) winner ran last of nine, but he was first-up from a knee injury-enforced spell and over a trip not made to suit.

Ong's Major King (Marc Lerner) fared better with a closing fourth, but the reigning Singapore champion trainer still had a good day at the office.

A double courtesy of Smoke And Mirrors ($8) and Per Incrown ($59) propelled him back to the top of the log on seven winners after leader Richard Lim returned empty-handed.

manyan@sph.com.sg

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