Team Cheval's Magnifique day

Like the 500-odd horse owners at Kranji, Eric Koh is not having things all his way off the track at the minute.

But on track, his Team Cheval Stable still enjoyed a perfect day at the races on Saturday.

The leading horse owner and F&B entrepreneur led in two winners from as many starters at the all-Polytrack meeting.

Cheval Magnifique (Bernardo Pinheiro) got the ball rolling in the $20,000 Open Maiden race (1,200m), before Bransom (Louis-Philippe Beuzelin) doubled the dose in the $75,000 Novice race (1,200m).

“At least, I’ve having fun with my horses at the races, especially after the tough last 1½ weeks,” said Koh with a wry smile.

The former Singapore stipendiary steward was one of the first to react to the shock June 5 announcement that the Government was closing racing down by October 2024.

Besides racing horses and owning restaurants, he also manages the interests of Thai champion owner Falcon Racing and runs a spelling station.

Having worn so many hats on either side of the racing industry, his views command plenty of respect.

It came as no surprise he was appointed as one of the seven owners of the working committee formed at an owners-trainers meeting at one of his bistros last Wednesday.

“It was important for owners to come together as one and work with the trainers. It’s our only chance to make ourselves heard,” he said.

While the odds are stacked against them, Koh’s two Saturday winners certainly had more than a decent fighting chance.

An Irish-bred import, Cheval Magnifique had been knocking on the door for trainer Ricardo Le Grange. The only query was the quick back-up after a close second to Groovy on June 11.

But, sent out as the second favourite ($14) and again ridden by Pinheiro, he showed he still had plenty of residual energy despite coursing out three wide.

On the other hand, Bransom ($21) was not at his maiden victory for Koh and his partners, the Goldenhill Stable.

But the Brazen Beau three-year-old had not won again since his debut win, including a disappointing unplaced run in the Group 3 Singapore-Three-Year-Old Sprint (1,200m) on April 8.

Winning trainer Stephen Gray said he never lost the confidence that he could bounce back under the right conditions.

“In the first leg (of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge), he drew wide,” said the Kiwi handler.

“He did not get a good run, I should have run him in the Novice that day.

“He ran okay at his next start. But I thought that was a good race for him today, I always thought Poly would be good for him.

“Eric will have fun with this horse.

“I also got a group of owners from Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, etc, to buy 50 per cent of the shares.

“He’s a quick horse, he can quicken. He’s a lovely horse to ride.

“He used to be hyper, but he is more sensible now. He has settled better.

“He was also well ridden today.”

Winning rides are few and far between for French jockey Louis-Philippe Beuzelin these days.

A first association with Bransom brought up only his fifth win for the season.

But, after the well summed up front-running ride, he may well be remembered at Bransom’s future outings.

“He’s a horse with a high cruising speed. He jumped out well,” said Beuzelin.

“I was able to manipulate him very well. I could give him a breather mid-race.

“At the 700m, I didn’t want him to go too soon. I bided my time.

“He quickened nicely in the last 600m, but was idling a bit. There’s still room for improvement.”