The buzz at Kranji was cranked right up when the news came through this year’s gun three-year-old Countofmontecristo had got a berth in the last race on Sunday.
And the crowd erupted further after the Michael Clements-trained son of Echoes Of Heaven came off his first test from a break with flying colours.
Countofmontecristo was the first emergency in what was already billed as the highlight of the day, the $100,000 Open Benchmark 97 race over 1200m on Polytrack, but the race took a whole new dimension when he was promoted as a starter after spots were made vacant with the withdrawals of Good News and stablemate Italian Job.
Countofmontecristo (Glen Boss) has the Open Benchmark 97 race all parcelled up a few strides from home, picture Singapore Turf Club
If fans still had to bear with eight races getting out of the way until the last on the nine-race programme, it was certainly well worth the wait.
Their champion galloper came off an ideal fourth place in transit two off the fence before tackling a trio made up of The General (Nooresh Juglall), Lincoln Road (John Powell) and Nova Swiss (Manoel Nunes) upon straightening.
First time against a stronger class of horses, and more pointedly, first-up from a three-month spell since his first defeat (after a sterling five-in-a-row including the first two Legs of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge, the Sprint over 1200m and the Classic over 1400m), Countofmontecristo might have a few chinks in the armour this time, even if the level of confidence was high on his short $8 quote alone.
He cruised up with that customary contempt that has seen him ruthlessly dominate his peers earlier this year, but he did look like he hit a brickwall once he levelled up with Nova Swiss.
But regular partner Glen Boss was on top of things. Saving the best for last, the Australian ace gave Countofmontecristo a few more squeezes, which eventually resulted into the high-class galloping machine putting any doubts to rest.
In the end, he made winning look easy with 1 ¼ lengths to spare from a gallant Nova Swiss, who finally put up a much more encouraging display after his recent defeats. The General plugged on for third place another half-a-length away.
Countofmontecristo clocked the smart time of 1min 10.76secs for the 1200m, which is only 0.05 second outside the Class record held by Goal Keeper.
If Clements had been harbouring any doubts about ring-rustiness, they were quickly allayed after such a pulsating win, though the Zimbabwean-born handler’s heart did skip a beat close home.
“For a horse of his calibre, I thought he would go whoosh at the 200m. He was not quickening as expected, there were some anxious moments,” he said.
“But Glen rode him with great confidence and never panicked. He won quite easily in the end.
“Of course, I was a bit worried how he would go first-up against Class 1 horses. It was also on Polytrack even if he won on it at his first start.
“But he had a great prep, and he has come back bolder and brighter than he was.
“He had a good track gallop, though he did not show much at his barrier trial (August 10). We were not expecting much from him then, anyway.”
Clements said it was uppermost in his mind the Joe Giovanni-owned gelding faced the starter on Sunday, even if it depended on a horse to be scratched – which in the end was made possible with the Tan Hor Khoon-trained Good News coming out.
“He had to have this run before he goes for the Jumbo Jet Trophy,” said Clements as he touched on Countofmontecristo’s main target, the Group 3 race over 1400m on September 10.
“After that, we will probably be looking at the other feature races like the Kranji Mile and so on.”
Boss, who had to waste hard to ride him 1.5 kilos over his allotted postage stamp weight of 50kgs, said he had gone into Sunday’s race prepared not to look “too pretty”.
“It was intentional to keep him out of trouble by riding him off the rails,” said Boss who has partnered Countofmontecristo at all his starts bar his debut when he pulverised his opponents with Malaysian jockey Mohd Zaki up at that one previous win on the all-weather.
“He was the best horse in the race and I was not going to ride him pretty. It didn’t quite work out for him in the Guineas, but he was still very gallant.
“Back on the Poly over 1200m after a break was a question mark. If he would lose a race, that was it, but he would have come off fitter from that run.
“But he has also come back mentally stronger, while physically he’s the same. He was so relaxed throughout the run and he won a nice race in the end.
“It was worth wasting for a horse like him. You’ll do that for a nice horse.”
Countofmontecristo has now pushed his stakes earnings past the $550,000 mark for Giovanni, a figure one suspects will not stop there anytime soon.
