By Larry Foley, Singapore Turf Club
It may have been a small field of seven, but Gold Cut showed his best to dictate terms and open his account in the $20,000 Open Maiden race over 1000m on Saturday.
After pinging the gates, jockey Vlad Duric crossed easily from the widest alley (barrier seven). Although race favourite Shanghai Star (Shafrizal Saleh) was on his tail, Duric managed to keep his powder dry until challenged at the 300m.
Perfectly rated throughout by the four-time Singapore champion jockey, the Reward For Effort four-year-old held off the early challenge to make every post a winner with Shanghai Star staying on well for second by just under a length. Debutant Rocky (Fadzli Yusoff) finished another half-a-length away in third.
Gold Cut’s ($15) winning time was 59.33secs for the 1000m on the Polytrack.
The winning post was a welcoming sight according to Duric after the race.
“He got a bit jaded at the end of the race – (he’s) a good 900m horse,” quipped the Australian hoop.
“But he lacks maturity, so he should get a good 1000m when he develops and gets a bit older.
“He’s got a lot of speed, I was trying to harness him a bit to finish that 1000m off.
“It was a modest field today but I said to (trainer) Timmy (Tim Fitzsimmons) and Mr Eugene (Yong, owner of Gold Stable) that he might be better off with a claim in a Class 4 and he could string two wins together.
“It’s great having the crowds back – I’ve ridden horses for the Gold Stable before but it’s the first time I met Mr Eugene – so it’s great.”
The win by Gold Cut was a relief for Fitzsimmons.
“His first two runs for me were really positive but he lost his way a little bit,” said the leading trainer.
“He’s a horse who appreciates being fresh and I think 1000m is his go.
“I had (jockey) (Manoel) Nunes booked but he got injured, so we had a good replacement today in Vlad who rated him beautifully.
“We were really worried about the one horse (Shanghai Star) but we found the line at the right time.
“We brought him as a trialled horse for the Yong’s.
“They (Gold Stable) have been amazing owners and it’s great to get another winner for them.
“They have supported me since the day I started and they are really good friends of mine as well.
“Really happy with that!”
Where to from here for the obvious sprinter?
“We’ll just potter along and find a 1000m race for him,” said Fitzsimmons, not giving away too much.
The win took Gold Cut’s prizemoney to just over $18,000 from six career starts.
