Nunes’ best in last 3 races
Surrey Hills, Ghalib and Last Supper look the standouts of his 10 rides on Nov 25
Manoel Nunes, already assured of a fifth Singapore champion jockey’s title with his unassailable lead, is closing in on the 90-win mark.
If he achieves that score on Nov 25, a century looks a possibility. There are still four race days in December.
On 86 wins – 41 more than Wong Chin Chuen (suspended four months) and 44 ahead of Marc Lerner (on two-day suspension) – Nunes is expected to have a good harvest with his 10 rides in the card of 11.
Most of his mounts are choice rides and he sits out only in Race 6.
With luck, he can strike from the opener, by making amends on Big Green Hat, whom he rode to a close sixth last start as the $16 favourite. It is in another weak Class 5 field and he has the inner-most draw.
The in-form My Boss will likely be the punters’ favourite in Race 3, with Nunes taking over the ride.
His three wins and a second in his last four starts were under Bruno Queiroz (a win and a second), Koh Teck Huat (win) and Amirul Ismadi (win).
While his other rides can also greet the judge, his best are obviously in the last three events – Surrey Hills, Ghalib and Last Supper respectively.
Prepared by leading trainer Jason Ong, Surrey Hills has performed well in all his three 2023 races after resuming from a spell.
His first two, when ridden by Amirul, yielded a third over the Polytrack 1,000m on Aug 20 and a second over the Poly 1,100m on Sept 30.
Punters jumped on the bandwagon at his last start on Oct 28 when Nunes hopped aboard.
The $9 favourite lost no admirers by finishing third, after being hunted from the start by the eventual victor Win Win, who benefited from a more economical run on the inside. Pacific Gold rushed home for second.
That was over the Poly 1,100m. The 1,000m should be more ideal. From his outside barrier, Surrey Hills will likely press forward to try and make it pillar to post.
As his fitness has improved with every race, the smart all-the-way debut winner (April 9, 2022) should win for Nunes.
The 48-year-old, who rode Ghalib to score at his first two starts (when under Michael Clements), will be reunited with the son of I Am Invincible.
Ghalib, now with Steven Burridge after Clements quit the Singapore scene at the end of September, was ridden by Saifudin Ismail in his last two starts.
At his last outing on Nov 11, the four-year-old Australian-bred put up a brave effort when second to Akhtar over 1,200m on turf.
Although both his wins were also over the distance and surface, he seems to prefer a little longer now.
So, the extra 200m on Nov 25 should stand him in good stead.
His final gallop on Nov 21 was also superb. He went better than stablemate Arif, who is the topweight in the same race, on 57.5kg (55.5kg after Yusoff Fadzli’s 2kg claim).
Ghalib gets in with 54.5kg. He is also aided by the No. 1 barrier.
In the last race, Nunes can round up with the day’s star runner, Last Supper.
The James Peters-trained three-year-old showed vast potential when scoring first-up under Vlad Duric on Aug 20.
He has had a good break and is back to continue where he left off.
He showed strong intention by winning his trial in smart fashion on Nov 16. The jockey? Nunes.
Last Supper will be the day’s best for a good reason.
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