Tiger Force roars to course record, Latest Racing News - The New Paper
Racing

Tiger Force roars to course record

Logan-trained 4YO gives Duric his 500th Kranji win

The way 8-1 shot Tiger Force bolted home by 41/2 lengths at Kranji on Friday night certainly caught many by surprise.

The bigger surprise: the Donna Logan-trained four-year-old American-bred had broken the course record for the Polytrack in 1min 37.64sec as a Class 5 runner and was easing up before the winning post.

The previous mark of 1min 37.69sec by former glamour Kranji galloper Better Than Ever stood for eight years.

Given the fact that Better Than Ever was a multiple Group-winning horse, Tiger Force is set to claw his way up the ranks.

Tiger Force's victory also provided a milestone for jockey Vlad Duric. It was the two-time Singapore champion and the season leader's 500th win at Kranji.

Since his arrival in 2009, Duric has been winning races by the spades in two distinct periods, 2009-2011 and 2016-2019, landing the title in the last two seasons.

But a Class 5 galloper with one solitary win from 18 starts and a rating of 39 finding his way into the record books has to be something that doesn't happen every day, anywhere in the racing world.

Still, Duric was not allowing his mount's jaw-dropping exploit of eclipsing a record held for a long time by one of Kranji's best milers outshine him.

"When I first came here in 2009, I never imagined one day I'd be riding 500 winners here," said Duric.

"It's a real privilege to have been riding here and ride so many winners. I can only hope I can ride another 500 winners here one day.

"It's also good the win came for Donna, as she's been a very good supporter of mine."

As to whether he had any inkling that Tiger Force had shaved 0.05 second off Better Than Ever's long-standing record, Duric was in a jocular mood when giving his take on the pulsating run in the $30,000 Devonshire 2002 Stakes, a Class 5 Division 1 race.

"Donna told me that this horse made a breathing noise. When I jumped off, she asked me if I heard anything. I told her I only heard 'Vroom' ," he said.

Indeed, Tiger Force completely annihilated the opposition when he was peeled off a rails-hugging run to sweep past the leader O'Reilly Star upon straightening.

The chestnut gelding left his rivals standing once he swept to the lead 300m out.

Tiger Force has taken his prizemoney level past the $40,000 mark for Thai outfit Falcon Racing No. 7 Stable.

HORSE RACING