Pacific Vampire goes scary fast

His name can make your hair stand. His strength and stamina make him even scarier.

And, as his rivals at the trials on the morning of Sept 12 found out, he takes no prisoners.

Yes, such is his prowess that Pacific Vampire could be something right out of the pages of a Bram Stoker novel.

A pity, therefore, with just four race days left, Singapore’s racegoers will not be able to see him in all his glory.

So it was a treat in itself to see Pacific Vampire trot out for the trials.

Taken out by Bruno Queiroz, Pacific Vampire was neatly into stride and, on settling, the only danger looked to come from Makin, the mount of Manoel Nunes.

They matched strides but, even before they reached that first bend, Pacific Vampire – fangs showing – had put two lengths between himself and the leader of the chasing pack.

The margin was four at the 600m mark and when the field straightened, Pacific Vampire was – as they say in racing – home and hosed.

The others tried to make dents into his lead but they were only kidding themselves. The five-year-old kept eating up the Polytrack and, when the finish loomed, he had put seven lengths on the runner-up Makin.

Ghalib, at 102 points the highest-rated runner in the field, took up the final place on the podium.

If the complete annihilation which Pacific Vampire inflicted on his rivals was not bad enough, his time of 58.06sec was a salute to his prowess.

At Pacific Vampire’s fourth and last win (Aug 25) from nine starts, he delivered one of his most impressive victories.

Taking on a small but high-class field of sprinters in a Kranji Stakes A race over the 1,200m, he played catch-me-if-you-can. Well, they never did catch him and he coasted in by almost three lengths.

Pacific Vampire did have toothless moments, but when on song, he is something else and a fifth win on his 10th start will not surprise.

An Australian-bred five-year-old by Impending, Pacific Vampire is prepared by defending champion trainer Jason Ong whose unassailable lead in the 2024 premiership has all but guaranteed him back-to-back titles.

He was just as dominant in the Sept 12 trials, hogging all three of the heats.

Sandwiched between two runners from Tim Fitzsimmons’ yard and two from James Peters’ in the second trial of the morning, Ong’s Major King brushed them aside when he took the honours.

Like Pacific Vampire, Major King took the lead on settling down and never gave it back.

With jockey Daniel Moor’s feet planted firmly in the irons, Major King was always travelling better than the rest and, although never asked to do more than what was necessary, they coasted in by 1 3/4 lengths.

Okay, so the margin was not as impressive as that recorded by his stablemate in the earlier trial. But his time for the 1,000m certainly was.

The Per Incanto six-year-old also broke the minute mark when stopping the clock at 59.54sec.

Rubik Kid took second in 59.84sec while Mt Niseko was doing his best work late when running into third spot.

But it was all about Major King. A winner of four races in 2023, he looked to be ready to make a name for himself.

However, he never seemed able to get going in the current season with his best show being a fourth placing in that Kranji Stakes A race won by the “Vampire” on Aug 25. But we know he is better than that.

Ong’s third and final winner of the day was Angel Baby.

Though not as capable as his stablemates who won the previous two trials of the morning, Angel Baby showed good action when leading all the way under a strong ride from Queiroz.

He eventually took the trial by 2¼ lengths, clocking 1min 01.00sec for the short and sharp trip.

The Dissident six-year-old is what they call a “bread-and-butter” runner.

Yes, not a major star, but he still pays for his keep by picking up small purses.

So, the next time you see him entered for a race, toss him into those novelty bets. He could help juice up the pot.

brian@sph.com.sg