Many were confounded by Yabadabadoo’s last start, with the only excuse left to sugar the pill being ‘it was one of these things’.

The previously unbeaten Makfi three-year-old finished stone motherless last in an Open Benchmark 67 race over 1200m on October 29.

Assistant-trainer Michael White is among those still scratching his head. Looking back at the TV replays, he is none the wiser.

The early stages of the race were not exactly smooth sailing, but there were no distress signals either.

Connections will be seeking some answers from Yabadabadoo's run on Sunday, picture Singapore Turf Club

Showing his customary early toe, Yabadabadoo did, however, not cut across when he could have. The window period was snapped shut when Ahmar kicked up on the rails to keep him one-off abreast.

Even when Big Man speared over and raced away to a big lead, Yabadabadoo looked to be still in the zone.

Trouble struck at the 600m mark when Ahmar suddenly got bumped onto the rails and lost ground. As a result, three other horses also copped a check and lost ground.

But it was Yabadabadoo, on Ahmar’s outside, who was actually found to be the trigger of the whole knock-on effect - and who ironically tailed off the worst. Stewards reported he “mis-strode and shifted inwards abruptly, resulting in Ahmar being crowded onto the running rail”.

Thereafter, Yabadabadoo’s jockey Manoel Nunes did not insist further, easing his mount down to a light canter down the home straight.

Such a desolate sight normally spells trouble. Both White and his boss Michael Clements scurried down to the unsaddling area, but to their relief, could not find anything untoward. No pain, no discomfort, no abnormal noises, nothing.

Joe Singh’s new find was sent for a battery of tests. Good as gold and all clear to race again, came the results. The Clements-Singh camp had to be relieved, but at the same time, at a complete loss as to what could have happened.

White joked that Bermuda Triangle was child’s play next to this “mystery”, four days ahead of Yabadabadoo’s racing comeback in The British Club Gallop, a $80,000 Class 3 race over 1100m on Sunday.

“He’s come back well after that mysterious run that was more baffling than the Bermuda Triangle,” said the Australian horseman.

“He put one stride wrong and he was gone. We could find nothing wrong with him after he pulled up.

“We did everything we could, all the tests, X-rays. It was probably just one of those things.

“He would have gone for a break in any case, win, lose or draw, as he was coming to the end of his first campaign.”

While going back to the drawing board in the wake of such a deflating run can throw up many question marks, White said that Clements and Singh had still mapped out a well-defined path for Yabadabadoo this year.

“He’s had a month off and has come back in good order. It was always the plan to give him a couple of runs before the 3YO series kicks off, first-up on Polytrack before he goes on turf,” he said.

“He will definitely go for the first Leg (Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint over 1200m) and we’ll take it from there, but he should be going for all three Legs (last two are the Classic over 1400m and the Singapore Guineas over 1600m).”

With previous partner Manoel Nunes not riding at Kranji anymore, Clements unhesitatingly entrusted Sunday’s ride to his Malaysian apprentice jockey Shafrizal Saleh, who has made a much brighter start this season with two winners already under his belt – Let’s Talk Now and Amistad.

“Yabadabadoo is a straightforward horse. You don’t need to be a superstar to ride him,” said White.

“It makes sense to put Shafrizal on. He rides the horse every morning and he deserves to get the chance to ride him in a race.

“Six months ago, I wouldn’t have put him on to be honest, but he is riding with greater confidence this year. The two-kilo claim will also give the horse every opportunity.”

Meanwhile, White reported that Clements has bought a yearling with a distinguished Kranji link at the Karaka National Yearling Sales in New Zealand on Wednesday.

“Mike just bought a half-sister to Better Than Ever. She is by Ocean Park,” he said.

“I believe he paid NZ$45,000 for her.”

Better Than Ever was a champion galloper and multiple-Group winner who won 10 races in a row for ex-Singapore multiple-champion trainer Laurie Laxon. He was by French Deputy and out of the Unbridled’s Song dam Songfest.