Montoya tops 'practice' sheet
He wins one of three trials at Kranji on Tuesday morning
It was a new experience for Montoya - and a happy one, no doubt.
For the first time since taking up residence at Kranji in October of 2018, he had won something.
So what if it was just a trial? At least, he was getting somewhere.
So, good on you, Montoya. Like your namesake - Juan Pablo Montoya of F1 fame - you had topped the practice sheet.
It was a step forward and now that he knows what it is like to win something, it's time to bring that winning feeling to the races.
On a Tuesday when regular folk returned to work after that Chinese New Year long weekend and with little else - except for trackwork - happening at Kranji, Montoya won one of the three trials of the morning.
It was his fifth trial since February last year and it came right after he put in a solid last-start performance to take second behind Host The Nation on Jan 4.
Ridden by Michael Rodd that day, he was obliged to race wide and without cover for most of the 1,200m trip.
Still, and over the concluding stages, he was travelling better than all of his rivals and failed by just half a length from catching the winner.
Rodd must have felt good about that ride for he was again the pilot on Tuesday.
And again, Montoya would have given him a good feel. Jumping cleanly from the innermost chute, Rodd easily got him to settle in front.
For a while, near the 600m mark and into the straight, Miracle Time put his nose in front. But once they had angled for the run home, it was Montoya and Montoya alone out front.
Never asked to do more than was necessary, Montoya beat El Primero (L Beuzelin) by 31/2 lengths, with Miracle Time having to settle for third.
It wasn't the swiftest of trials - 62.83sec was what he clocked. But, what the heck? Montoya had won a trial at his fifth go. Hopefully he will get a win at his 13th start.
It was Lee Freedman versus Gray in the earlier trial. It was a six-horse field and Freedman had two runners while Gray stacked the deck with four.
Off they went and Freedman's Augustano, ridden by R Iskandar, was smartly into stride. The chasing pack, comprising Al Green (Vlad Duric) and Yulong Jazz (Van Der Merwe) watched him go.
Into the stretch and Augustano had put three lengths between himself the Gray pairing of Al Green and Yulong Jazz.
Close home and when it was all over, Sun Marshal emerged from the pack to give chase. But Augustano had too big a break on all of them and he went to the line a clear two-length winner in a time of 62.33sec.
Freedman had his quinella.
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