Gee, Whiz Fizz does it
Trainer Peters pleasantly surprised with his grey newcomer's easy victory
After a couple of failures, no one could blame trainer James Peters for not having too much first-up faith in another of his Argentinian-bred babies, Whiz Fizz, at Kranji on Saturday.
Hardwicke Racing Club-owned Tesoro Pirata and Pini Pons had flopped, despite having shown promise on the training tracks, so Whiz Fizz was only mildly supported at $76, although the grey won a trial.
But, lo and behold, Whiz Fizz bucked the trend .
Not even the widest barrier (Gate 12) could stop the gelding from landing the $75,000 Restricted Maiden event over the Polytrack 1,100m.
With South African jockey Juan Paul van der Merwe astride, he managed to race up to secure a handy spot behind Bad Boy Black and Fighting Hero.
He went up to the leader on straightening and soon cruised away to a two-length victory.
Second was the late-closing Hideyuki Takaoka-trained newcomer-cum-outsider Con Speranza, who paid $89 for a place.
"To be honest, I've been left scratching my head with those Argentinian horses," said Peters.
"They all work well, but that form is not translated on raceday. That's why I was apprehensive about this one as well, as he's also shown us ability on the tracks.
"He had some niggly issues like shin soreness and he was backed off a couple of times. But he's obviously come good really well.
"Whatever he did today, he will improve on, fitness-wise. He's still new and he's a very nice prospect for the stable."
Whiz Fizz is among a group of six Argentinian horses who made the headlines for the wrong reasons last year, when they were caught at the wrong place at the wrong time.
The plane they boarded in Rio de Janeiro to fly to Singapore was grounded in a drug bust, which delayed their flight. But all ended well with another plane organised to fly them to their intended destination.
Mandrake, the only tried horse among the lot, has already won a race, but Whiz Fizz is the first of the unraced batch to salute.
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