Lim's Saltoro wins Singapore Derby

Big-race celebrations at Kranji had been awash in blue and yellow stars in the last nine months, and the Singapore Derby was no different with Lim’s Saltoro’s triumph on July 21.

The holy trinity of champion owner Lim’s Stable, trainer Daniel Meagher and jockey Marc Lerner had swept half of the last 12 Group races since Lim’s Kosciuszko’s Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup (2,000m) win on Nov 11.

That stranglehold was tightened further with Lim’s Saltoro again coming back from the brink of defeat to snatch victory in the $400,000 Group 1 Singapore Derby (1,800m).

Makin (Manoel Nunes) had already poked his head in front at the 200m, but Lim’s Saltoro loves a scrap, reeling him back in to prevail by the same margin – a head. The $10 favourite ran the 1,800m on the long course in 1min 47.36sec.

Like at his first two 4YO wins in the Group 3 Silver Bowl (1,400m) and Group 2 Stewards’ Cup (1,600m), he just has a knack of knowing where the winning post is.

Getting it right for the third consecutive time earned him a clean sweep of the three legs of the 4YO races, a feat not pulled off since Jolie’s Shinju in 2009.

It must have felt like Groundhog Day to both the winning and losing sides, especially Makin’s connections for the latter.

“Well done, Marc. Great ride, even if you’ve beaten me again,” said trainer Steven Burridge as he sportingly congratulated Lerner.

As the French jockey joined Meagher and owner Lim Siah Mong for another walk on the red carpet, their expressions still ran the gamut of emotions from joy and pride to sheer relief.

But while Lerner’s countenance has been likened to that of an iceman, no matter how momentous the occasion, a slight quiver could be detected in his voice this time – and it was not quite because he was at his second Singapore Derby success after Hard Too Think in 2021.

“This horse has a special place in my heart,” he said.

“Lim’s Kosciuszko is a champion, I love him too, but I’ve been with Lim’s Saltoro from the beginning.

“The whole week Dan and I discussed about my first win on him in an Open Maiden 1,100m race on Polytrack back in September.

“It has been a great effort for him to get from there to go all the way to win a Derby.

“I ride him every morning. He’s still a difficult horse to ride.

“He still has a mind of his own, and can still lose the plot, but today he felt no pressure.

“He knows what to do and he knows how to get it right.”

In contrast, Meagher was as usual wearing his heart on his sleeve at the post-race interview, especially as it dawned on him that he will go down in history as the last Singapore Derby-winning trainer, with Kranji shutting down on Oct 5.

“It means a lot to win the last Derby. I’m quite emotional, this is a country that holds a special place in my heart,” said Meagher, who won his first Singapore Derby with Lim’s Kosciuszko in 2022 but whose father John had never won it during his 11 years at Kranji.

“It’s also very special to achieve this for Mr Lim.

“It’s stressful having good horses. I wasn’t well this morning.

“It was only when he found the rails that my heart felt more relieved.

“I’ve felt a lot of emotions, but mostly pure relief. There were a lot of expectations.

“He’s super tough, he’s a fighter who doesn’t like to lose. It’s done, I’m very proud of him.

“He’s won a Group 1 now. He’s a special horse to me.”

From barrier No. 10, Lim’s Saltoro was widely expected to come across to sit off the speed, but somehow landed in front, albeit not by design.

“The plan was to follow Aniki but after he jumped so good, and I saw Ruan (Maia) take hold, I went to Plan B. I let my horse hit the front,” said Lerner.

“At the 800m, I saw Bernardo’s (Pinheiro) horse (Hole In One) coming, but my horse put his ears back, and was still so relaxed.

“Then Manoel’s (Nunes) horse (Makin) came very fast, but my horse always had an answer to the fight.”

To cap off this memorable day, Meagher picked up three more winners, Sweet N Sour ($39), Always Together ($110) and Pacific Beauty ($65) to seal his first career four-timer and vault to second place on the trainers’ premiership on 35 winners, 20 behind runaway leader Jason Ong.

manyan@sph.com.sg