Glen Boss finds himself caught in a dilemma which is not too dissimilar from the one he faced around Singapore Derby time last year.

The top Australian jockey won the Group 1 Patron’s Bowl (1600m) on Well Done last year, but decided to stick to Mr Spielberg whom he also won with at his last start.

As it turned out, Boss pulled the wrong rein. Well Done went on to land the Group 1 Emirates Singapore Derby while Mr Spielberg ran on late but could only manage a fourth place.



The charge of the light brigade fails to catch Alibi (Glen Boss) in the Patron's Bowl, picture Singapore Turf Club

The protagonists have changed one year on, but Boss is in a deja-vu situation. He has won the first two Legs of the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge with Alibi, but a nagging doubt remains about his ability to complete a historic clean sweep: Can he see out the 2000m trip?

Boss thought Well Done was a borderline case for the Derby after the Patron’s Bowl win, but he was ultimately proven wrong. He again feels Alibi could have the same stamina query. He even admitted to writing off the son of Darci Brahma as a Derby contender in the wake of his Patron’s Bowl win.

But in the cold light of day, mindsets are malleable, and he can only hope Alibi vindicates him as opposed to Mr Spielberg last year.

“This reminds me a bit of Well Done last year. I really thought Mr Spielberg was a better stayer, but I got it wrong,” said Boss.

“Similarly for Alibi, I still think the 2000m is a query, but he came through the run (Patron’s Bowl) so well that I changed my mind about him not going to the Derby.

“He’s really well and has come back super since his last race. I rode him last week and will ride him tomorrow, and he’s in really good shape.

“He’s an up-and-coming horse in a pretty commanding position right now. He’s won both Legs and people tend to forget that.

“In the Patron’s Bowl, he looked the winner for a big majority of the race. He’s got such a will to win. The distance is query but there are a lot of the other horses who are in the same boat.

“Whether he can see out the trip, we will find out on Sunday I guess but who’s to say that he cannot stay?”

Boss said too many times so-called pundits are blinded by their own one-sided judgements, and he had a good case in point.

“Alibi reminds me a bit of Ocean Park, my Cox Plate winner in 2012,” he said.

“He won his lead-ups to the race, the Underwood Stakes and the Caulfield Stakes, but he was always the fourth or fifth pick for the Cox Plate. People thought he was too much of a tradesman.

“But that’s what often happens in racing. People ignore the obvious and that’s what’s happening with Alibi, He is also a bit of a tradesman.”

He acknowledges the last Leg may prove one bridge too far for Alibi, but he has concocted a plan which may help him cross that bridge.

“I may ride him differently this time. In the Patron’s Bowl, I bounced him out and he was always handy,” said Boss.

“He’s always the one to hit the lead and that’s how he puts himself in a vulnerable position. I want him to be the one chasing them down this time instead of being the bunny.

“Every time they get to him, he just keeps putting his head in front. That’s what he did in the Patron’s Bowl, and I reckon if there was another 100m to the race he would still stick his head in front.

“That’s why I think he has a good turn of speed. He will still be in a good spot but we will use that turn of speed to have the last crack at them this time.”

Boss, who has claimed four of the 13 Group races that have already been run this season, has yet to land the Singapore Derby but already boasts three Derbies from Australia on his imposing resume.

He won the Australian Derby three times with Sky Heights (1999), Starcraft (2004) and Shamrocker (2011), the Victoria Derby with Hit The Roof (2000) and the Queensland Derby twice with Lachlan River (2005) and Camarena (1999).