NZ bred too good in $1m Guineas
Half-owner Laurie Laxon expects even more of Mr Clint
When an owner wins a million dollar race he or she is entitled to think the top of the mountain has been reached. Laurie Laxon is not prepared to declare he’s even had a glimpse of the peak of Mt Everest after New Zealand bred Mr Clint completely dominated Saturday night’s S$1 million ($1.07m) Singapore Guineas.
“Everything is ahead of this horse,” said Laxon as he watched Mr Clint from the favourite spot on Kranji racecourse where he watched his horses lead him to nine Singapore trainers’ Championships.
Laxon left the $90,000 Ready To Run purchase with Hall Of Fame trainer Lee Freedman when the Australian purchased his Singapore stable and business in August last year.
“I’ve trained a lot of Zabeels and this horse just reeks of Zabeel,” Laxon enthused after one of the most determined wins you could imagine. “Before I left for Singapore (17 years ago) I had a Zabeel in every paddock at one point. This horse is absolutely a Zabeel.”
Mr Clint is by former Cambridge Stud stallion Power from a mare by Zabeel and standouts Danehill and Centaine are the next two dam sires. “He has everything to go for.” says his part owner, sharing the 3-year-old with local owner Phua Chian Kin.
This was the first Group 1 Singapore victory for Lee Freedman, who landed 124 at that elite level in Australia. “It’s a great thrill to win a Group 1 race here in Singapore. We’re here now and that’s what we have to do — win these big races,” said Freedman, who late in the programme shot to the top of the log for the first time — on 26 winners tied with Shane Baertschiger and Daniel Meagher, but first on a better countback for seconds.
The second winner was Aotearoa, owned singularly by Laurie Laxon. But it was difficult to top the Guineas, in which Mr Clint was ridden by Hong Kong-based Australian Zac Purton.
“I told Zac he should keep him on the outside as he doesn’t like to be on the inside of horses,” said Freedman.
“He was travelling so well and I knew he would be hard to beat then.”
Starting as the $2.10 favourite, the son of Power indeed made light of a wide trip worse than midfield before swinging for home looking full of running.
After taking up the running and setting a steady tempo, Mr Clint’s stablemate Super Dynasty (Craig Grylls) tried to hold the fort for as long as he could, but soon buckled under pressure.
Considered as one of the leading hopes, Michael Clements’ Quarter Back (Glen Boss) could not muster any kick after camping outside Super Dynasty while Tesoro Privado (Nooresh Juglall) was caught in a pickle behind Super Dynasty, unable to find daylight, and even cut off Lord Of Cloud (Troy See) when he ducked back to the inside.
The winner had steered clear of all that strife, cutting a swathe down the middle for an uninterrupted run to the line.
King Louis (Barend Vorster), who was even further back astern, flashed home with his usual late run, but Mr Clint was home and hosed, falling in by one length from Ricardo Le Grange’s game challenger.
With that fourth win in nine starts, Mr Clint has taken his stakes earnings past the $725,000 mark for the Oscar Racing Stable.