Wong plots a 'Dream' run through the chaos
Scary incident hands Sun Dream the win
Much like what was to happen at the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday night, former Victorian sprinter SUN DREAM came off the lucky beneficiary and survivor of a drama-packed Race 3 where nearly half the field got wiped out on Sunday.
The scary-looking incident occurred barely 100m into the $60,000 Magneto 2014 Stakes, a Class 4 race over 1,100m on Polytrack when Double Cash (Mohd Zaki) came crossing too quickly from his wide barrier, smashing against five runners on his inside, favourite Safeer (Oscar Chavez), Gran Torino (Olivier Placais), Satellite Man (Peter Ho), Luminiff Lad (Chan Wei Sheng) and Lively Dragon (Pregasam Dellorto). The horse who came off the worst from that early scrimmage was the one right on the inside, Safeer, who unfortunately turned into a crash test dummy for the occasion when he was seen copping the full impact and pushing the elasticity of the PVC running rails - and robustness of Chavez's left boot - to its very limit.
By miracle, no horse or jockey came to grief, but the race was all but over for the five victims of that serious interference.
Similarly at the F1 race run six hours later at the Marina Bay Circuit, a chaotic start saw three top contenders crash out. From the carnage, Lewis Hamilton - much like Sun Dream - benefitted most. Yes, amidst all the chaos, Sun Dream somehow managed to steer clear of trouble and win the race.
But, in fairness, that was just half the battle won as CC Wong still had to hope the new conveyance under him would show enough poise and qualities to go and score on debut.
That scenario did eventuate as Double Cash and Lively Dragon petered out upon straightening, leaving the coast clear for Sun Dream, who straightaway raced away to a massive lead which was only whittled down late to one-and-three-quarter lengths by Gran Torino. Soldado (John Powell) ran third.
The end of the race was not without some unusual mishaps either.
Lively Dragon parted company with his rider upon pulling up while Mikcaipho (Saifudin Ismail) returned dehydrated.
"On his work and his Australian form, I thought he had a chance," said his trainer, Desmond Koh.
"He's definitely a horse with ability, but I think I will stick to sprints for now."
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
