Bold Thruster real courageous
Baertschiger-trained exciting 3YO fights back after being overtaken to land the Group 3 Rocket Man Sprint
Kranji's latest equine star Bold Thruster showed that the sky's the limit, as he clawed back courageously from the jaws of defeat to capture his third successive Group 3 victory yesterday.
Despite being the only three-old-old in the exciting field of 11, who collectively won 75 races among them, the Shane Baertschiger-trained rising star beat dual Lion City Cup victor and Champion Sprinter Lim's Cruiser and Group 2 EW Barker Trophy winner Mister Yeoh in the $175,000 Rocket Man Sprint over 1,200m on the long course.
Before yesterday, Bold Thruster was successful in the Saas Fee Stakes and the first leg of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge - the Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint. Both Group 3 events were also over the 1,200m on turf.
Bold Thruster has now won six of eight races for Tivic Stable, which raced former top galloper Stepitup.
It was certainly a brilliant move by Baertschiger to bypass Friday night's second leg of the 3YO series - the $400,000 Group 2 Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic over 1,400m. The race was run at set-weights and Bold Thruster would have to carry 57kg over an extra 200m.
As one of the lower-rated runners yesterday, Bold Thruster got in with a postage stamp weight of 50kg, which was the absolute decider in claiming the scalps of Lim's Cruiser, who humped 57kg, and Mister Yeoh, who was also handicapped at 50kg but jockey Daniel Moor rode 1.5kg overweight.
Baertschiger made another wise decision by flying back the winner's former regular rider, lightweight hoop Barend Vorster. The former Kranji-based South African is now plying his trade in South Australia.
Vorster jumped Bold Thruster out swiftly and led as his habit but his supporters must have had a scare when 11-time winner Super Winner got up to eyeball Bold Thruster, causing the horse to play with his head.
But Vorster gave his mount a bit more rein to lead clearly by a length. Then, the second scare came at the top of the straight. Mister Yeoh and Lim's Cruiser revved up menacingly and popped slightly ahead.
From there, the trio fought like gladiators in the arena of death. The light load paid off for Bold Thruster in the closing stages. He lunged to beat Lim's Cruiser by 1/2 length in a swift 1min 08.71sec, just 0.56sec outside Spalato's 2014 record.
Baertschiger thought Bold Thruster was a goner when overtaken at the top of the straight.
"I thought he was done. To his credit, he fought back and beat them, and he has broken 1min 09sec again," said the lanky Australian, who won the same race with Aramco last year and El Milagro in 2013.
"He's only going to improve again with the run, you know. We're going straight to the Lion City Cup now. Probably he's going to be my first Group 1 hope, so we'll have a crack. The sky's the limit for him."
The $800,000 Lion City Cup over 1,200m is on May 25.
Vorster was glad Baertschiger had Bold Thruster in tip-top shape and for inviting him to ride the $14 joint-favourite with Lim's Cruiser.
"He began beautifully for me, broke into a nice tempo and then had a bit of pressure, which he handled truly," said the 2004 Singapore champion."Even when they got to him at the top of the straight, he was just fighting back the whole way. It was real courageous of him."
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