January wins 3yo sprint

The talented but underrated January came with a well-timed run to claim the $110,000 Group 3 Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint (1,200m) on Saturday.

Interestingly, even trainer Donna Logan, who also saddled Knippenberg and Luxury Brand in the first leg of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge, admitted to placing January third in the pecking order.

Not form-wise, though, as the Kiwi handler could not split the three runners. But distance-wise, she felt the last two legs would be more up January’s alley, given the son of Swiss Ace was not as nippy.

But the script was thrown out the window when the elements and the barrier gods wreaked havoc.

Afternoon showers chopped the track up while Knippenberg (Ronnie Stewart) and Luxury Brand (Yusoff Fadzli) got shuffled too far back from their awkward barriers.

With January ($40) thriving on the sticky ground, and his two stablemates not as effective at the rear, Logan’s team dynamics were turned on their heads.

Given an economical centrefield run by Simon Kok, January came sailing home on the outside to edge out the favourite Bestseller (Manoel Nunes) by a head.

Though caught behind the eight ball, Luxury Brand and Knippenberg did chime in late for third and fourth place respectively. The winning time was 1min 9.58sec for the 1,200m on the short course.

“I was only worried 1,200m was too sharp for January. I told Simon to see that he gets home strong for the next legs,” said Logan.

“I thought Knippenberg and Luxury Brand were the stronger of the three in the first leg, but the rain changed everything.

“Simon told me January just relished the wet ground and they did go hard in front. It wasn’t his best trip but, with the speed in the race, I knew he’d finish on top of them.

“The barrier draws also dictated the way the race panned out. I pictured the other two more forward on the speedmap as they have more sharpness, but Knippenberg was drawn wide (10) and got further back and came out wider than we would have liked.

“Luxury Brand drew seven and played up in the gates, we can’t blame Yusoff. He was too far back, but he took the shortcuts home.

“But he’s not a big horse and, with 57kg, it was hard for him, especially when the track got shifty.”

While January is a no-brainer for the last two legs, the Group 2 Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic (1,400m) on April 29 and the Group 2 Singapore Guineas (1,600m) on May 20, Logan said the other two will tag along, at least at the next leg.

“January’s a miler and will run in the 1,400m and 1,600m,” she said.

“I spoke with Ronnie after the race and he told me the 1,400m will be no problem for Knippenberg.

“Luxury Brand was also very gallant and he’ll get 1,400m, too.

“Things didn’t work out for them but they still ran enormous. Both will run in the second leg.”

Logan added that the withdrawal of Michael Clements’ five-strong squad did not matter to her.

“I wasn’t worried about Mike’s horses,” she said.

“My horses have proven form. I don’t think January has done anything wrong with three wins, three seconds and two thirds in eight starts and more than $174,000 in prize money.

“I know there was a big hype on Mike’s horses but I was confident in my own horses’ merit. I couldn’t have been happier with their prep.

“I did a video on them on Wednesday. I told all three owners they were in magnificent order.

“They were glowing and their coats were all dappled up.

“I also said the winner would be the one to get the best ride, and Simon sure rode him beautifully.”

The Malaysian rider, who combined with the same Falcon Racing Stable to win his first Sprint aboard Tiger Roar as an apprentice in 2021, was glad he pulled the right rein.

“I could have ridden Coin Toss and Takanini, who were actually better 1,200m horses. But I wanted to stay loyal to the owners,” he said.

“When it rained, I wanted to be more forward. But in the parade ring, they told me to be three pairs back, which is where I travelled.

“There was a lot of pace. He finished home strong.”

Saturday's Singapore Results:  sinres09.pdf

Clements withdraws all runners

Michael Clements was a late scratching after he withdrew all of his 11 runners on race day morning on Saturday.

The 2020 Singapore champion trainer dropped the bombshell two days after two horses were withdrawn by the stewards – Pacific Hero, a leading chance in the Group 3 Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint (1,200m), and Fighter from the Class 3 race (1,800m).

Clements said they returned positive to morphine in their urine samples on Thursday. The swabs were taken after they won their races on March 25.

The urine samples of two other Clements’ runners that day – Pacific Angel (2nd) and Real Success (unplaced) – also tested positive to the same substance.

A week earlier, Clements’ Pacific Star had returned a positive swab following his second placing on March 18.

Suspecting contaminated feed as the cause, Clements pre-empted any further positives by pulling the pin across the board.

“Unfortunately, it’s highly likely that our runners entered today have ingested the contaminated feed,” he said.

“As such, I’ve decided to withdraw all of our runners from today’s meeting, with permission from the racing stewards.

“This is disappointing for my stable and owners. But our runners for next week onwards will be urine-tested on Mondays, with their results being available prior to them racing.”