Simply Big Hearted
Clements' rising stayer now eyes the $1 million Singapore Gold Cup on Nov 21
Like his name suggests, Big Hearted powered home in Saturday's $70,000 Class 3 event over 1,800m to put his hands up for the $1 million Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup on Nov 21.
It was his fifth success from 11 starts. He took his earnings past the quarter-mllion mark for Falcon Racing No. 7 Stable.
Before Saturday, the son of Hallowed Crown finished fourth behind Kranji's superstar Inferno in the Group 2 Singapore Classic over 1,400m and the Group 1 Singapore Guineas over 1,600m.
Trainer Michael Clements put his charge to the 1,800m test in readiness for the Gold Cup and he passed it with flying colours under a superb ride by Brazilian jockey Ruan Maia.
"I've always rated Big Hearted highly, and today things went his way," said Clements, who went on to saddle Top Knight to capture the $400,000 Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup over 1,800m.
"He needs to get back and needs a patient ride. Ruan delivered, it was a good win.
"He may get into the Gold Cup with a light weight. The 2,000m should not be a problem, as we always wanted to get him up over these distances.
"It's also good to know he can tick the wet track box as well, as it often rains around Gold Cup time. Usually, it's the European horses like So Hi Class and Implement who like the wet tracks, but they had no luck today."
So Hi Class finished seventh and Implement was fifth.
Clements' two other runners, last-start winner Vittoria Perfetta and On Line, ran third and fourth respectively.
Implement and On Line had set the pace, while their stablemates were further than midfield.
In the home straight, Implement and On Line stuck on manfully, but Big Hearted rattled home with a withering run inside the last 150m to take top prize by three parts of a length from the Lee Freedman-trained Ocean Crossing (A'Isisuhairi Kasim).
The winning time was 1min 48.72sec for the 1,800m on the yielding track on the long course.
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