English-bred gelding Silver Win Fortune showed the benefit of a drop in easier class to get off the mark at his sixth start on Sunday.

The Daniel Meagher-trained chestnut did mix it with the likes of Gran Torino, Crazy Dreams and Trigamy at his previous runs. Though the five-year-old did not quite measure up, he was not beaten all that far off either.

Spared of such fare in the $20,000 Open Maiden race over 1200m, Silver Win Fortune ($39) proved to be a lot more competitive. Though trapped three wide early, he was able to slot in onto the rails midrace in the small nine-horse field, before taking the shortest route home when the tiring leader Able Pins (Matthew Kellady) rolled off the fence.

Silver Win Fortune (Amirul Ismadi) holds off Sorbeta (John Powell) to score his first win on Sunday, picture Singapore Turf Club

The well-backed Sorbeta (John Powell) came with a withering run late, but Silver Win Fortune hung in there to hold off the late challenger by a short head.

Longshot Pacific Pearl (A’Isisuhairi Kasim) was shaping up as a very surprising winner when she circled the field to hit the front at the point of the turn, but her condition gave out in the end. The Japanese mare still produced her best performance in nine starts to run third another 1 ½ lengths away.

The winning time was 1min 14.25secs for the 1200m on the Polytrack.

With Meagher on leave for family reasons, stable supervisor Danny Beasley was on hand to give the low-down on their 11th winner for the season, with the first bouquet handed to the one sitting atop, though.

“It was a very good ride from Amirul. Dan and I have been watching him and we feel he has really improved as a rider since coming back from Tasmania,” said the former jockey.

“Mr Tan (of Fortune Stable, owner of Silver Win Fortune) is a fan of his. He put him on High Limit once and they finished third.

“This horse ran with horses that are a lot handier than these before. There was not much depth to today’s race, and he ran very well.”

Amirul said he was having a giggle as Silver Win Fortune came sneaking up around the home turn, but the gap took a while to eventuate.

“It was not an easy ride as the horse was laying out, the leader was tiring and for a while I wasn’t sure if the gap would come up or not,” said the son of trainer Ismadi Ismail.

“But once he got the gap, he went through it. I thought JP (John Powell) actually beat us on the outside, but I was glad the photo went our way.”