Rogue roan rewards Mizi's patience
Sonny Yeoh's delinquent delights with $100 win
For a change - and a pleasant one at that - it was a syce, your usual unsung hero, who earned the most credit for a win on Sunday.
ROAN RANGER can be a tricky horse to handle, mostly in trackwork, but on Sunday and while on the way to the starting gates for a Kranji Stakes D event, he suddenly decided he did not want to be a racehorse.
So he dug in his hoofs.
Jockey Derreck David might know the quirky Irish-bred roan very well for having steered him to two of his three wins at Kranji, but all his coaxing and nudging were falling on deaf ears.
Roan Ranger would have none of it and refused to be taken to the water.
Up came his syce Has Mizi. He decided to have a last throw of the dice, especially with the head starter Damien Kinninmont already looking at his watch and the yellow flag being unfurled at the other end.
Just when it looked like the only direction Roan Ranger was headed was the stables, he suddenly looked like he remembered his obedience lessons as Mizi clipped him while swishing the loose end of the lead to him as a spurring agent.
With Mizi taking the lead, Roan Ranger finally stepped onto the Polytrack to begin his journey to the gates - all the while with David diligently running behind under the hot sun.
All's well that ends well. Roan Ranger was finally loaded and as a perfect end to a troublesome story, the $100 roughie came off a handy spot to win the race.
It was like a "thank-you" present for Mizi and David who persevered when all else seemd to fail.
VERY GOOD JOB
"All the credit should go to the syce Mizi who knows the horse the best," said David. "He did a very good job to get him behind the barriers.
"I've ridden him six times for three wins now. He's always had ability and Sonny (Yeoh) has done a great job with him."
The low-key trainer was bringing up his 16th winner for the season, but a few minutes earlier, he was on the verge of making his way back to the stables for another blank day the moment he saw the rogue roan play up.
"I thought he was not going to get a start. I was ready to leave," said Yeoh. "So a big thank you to Mizi who knew which buttons to push with this horse."
With that fourth win in 31 starts, Roan Ranger has now taken his stakes earnings just a tick under the $100,000 mark for the Coyy Stable.
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