Baertschiger on the double

Of his seven entries on Sunday, Foreshadow and Grand Sage were his best hopes – the duo were in form and progressive.

And they certainly ran true to form to give trainer Shane Baertschiger a double to take his 2023 tally to 17 winners.

With a win (1,200m) and two thirds (Polytrack 1,100m and 1,200m) from his first three starts, Foreshadow started as the $16 second fancy in the $30,000 Class 5 (1) event over 1,400m in Race 1.

Ridden by four-time Singapore champion Vlad Duric, the Seymour Bloodstock-owned four-year-old made light of the 59kg top weight for a tenacious victory.

He flew the gates but was joined by Retallica. But Duric took Foreshadow to the front on straightening. Towards the end, Bruno Queiroz brought Bingo Master ($19) home with a storming run.

The $13 favourite Lightning Strike (Hugh Bowman) also put in a determined bid.

But, under a masterful ride by Duric, Foreshadow fended off Bingo Master by a head in 1min 22.99sec.Lightning Strike had to settle for third, 1¼ lengths behind.

Seven races later, Baertschiger’s last-start $609 winner Grand Sage produced another gutsy run to prove that his shock triumph was no fluke.

Under a gem of a ride by apprentice Jerlyn Seow, the Dragon Typhoon Stable-owned three-year-old overcame a rough passage to beat a strong lot in the $75,000 Novice event over 1,400m.

Still a little cold in the betting, he paid $95 for the win. On both occasions, the luxurious 50kg handicap helped. He was ridden by apprentice Ibrahim Mamat at his first win.

On Sunday, Seow jumped Grand Sage out beautifully but champion jockey Manoel Nunes brought the Michael Clements-trained $17 favourite and runaway debut winner Roman Chief from the outside to lead by a couple of lengths.

When Nunes dropped anchor on settling down, trainer Donna Logan’s pair of Maximum Control (Louis-Philippe Beuzelin) and Artillery (Simon Kok) went up to tackle the leader. This resulted in Grand Sage having to be eased.

The Logan-trained pair led into the straight but Roman Chief soon swooped past them. Grand Sage took the turn a little wider and closed in but started to run about.

Just as he was about to draw level with Roman Chief, Duric rushed up on the outside on Creative Dreams ($52) to make Grand Sage the meat in the sandwich.

In the final 100m, Roman Chief and Grand Sage bumped each other heavily twice. But, in a driving finish, Seow managed to seal victory from the four-time Singapore champion by a shorthead in 1:22.42. An ecstatic Seow stood up to celebrate and patted her mount on the neck.

“Yeah, Nunes went forward and slowed down the pace for himself. But the other two went and took him on, which was lucky because, once they went on, Grand Sage settled down without pressure,” said Singapore’s only woman jockey.

“He was a bit green with the whip and wasn’t helping with Nunes’ horse coming out and bumping me, and Duric’s horse on the outside. But the horse got a very big heart to run on. Very amazing to win this Novice race.”

The victory put Seow on top of the rookies’ premiership table on eight winners, one ahead of Rozlan Nazam.

Baertschiger was captivated by Grand Sage’s gutsy performance. His charge was ordinary in three starts before striking the back-to-back double.

“The first win was unexpected because he just turned three and he was a maiden running in Class 4. He has always shown ability but, the first couple of runs, he got back and stormed home,” he said.

“Going into yesterday’s race, I thought he was a chance with 50kg again. Actually, it was a good win because he got checked down the back straight when Nunes slowed the speed.

“It was a good, tough win. I think, with a clear run, he would have won by a length, or maybe two. The last bump at the 50m mark, Jerlyn nearly fell off.”

Baertschiger said Foreshadow had “not really shown a lot in Australia” and the owner sent him to Singapore.

“He never raced there but had six or seven trials but didn’t really show a lot, and they sent him up here and say ‘see what you can do with him’,” he added.

“His first run on the Poly was good. On turf, when he won the first time, I think he was three-wide all the way.

“I always thought he was looking for the 1,400m, so the 1,200m third-up was a little sharp for him.

“Going into yesterday’s race, I was pretty confident and he got the job done. Duric said, although the margin was close, it was a soft win.

“I’ll enter him next in a Class 4, 1,400m race on Sept 23. The same for Grand Sage. Of the two, I think Grand Sage is the more progressive horse.”