ZAC'S SPIRIT GETS HIM HOME YESTERDAY'S SINGAPORE (LONG COURSE A/POLYTRACK) RESULTS

loon@sph.com.sg

It was only a six-horse affair but yesterday's $200,000 Three Rings Trophy certainly didn't lack the horsepower to provide an exciting finish.

The six contenders had either won or finish second in their last starts and racegoers got the thriller they expected to see.

Race presenter and commentator Matthew Jones said it would just take two good horses to make a great race, and it turned out the two horses on top of their game - $9 favourite Zac Spirit and Holy Empire - provided that stirring finish.

The duo were engaged in a dogfight in the final 300m, which kept their supporters on the edge of their seats.

Finally, ZAC SPIRIT, probably with the 2.5kg weight pull (55kg to Holy Empire's 57.5kg), got the verdict by a mere neck.

Hat-trick winner Goodman finished third, one and a half lengths behind in the Group 3 feature over 1,400m (long course).

The race started with last-start winners Goliath and Empress Wu being slow into stride.

Holy Empire, winner of the Group 3 Saas Fees Stakes three starts back, zoomed to the lead under leading jockey Manoel Munes.

Goodman was slightly over a length behind, with Zac Spirit a similar gap away and racing a bit keenly.

The back trio, namely Bale Star, Empress Wu and Goliath, raced in a pack, also slightly over a length away.

Goodman and then Zac Spirit attacked the leader at the top of the long straight.

BATTLE

While jockey Corey Brown found little from Goodman, jockey Alan Munro, who had won four races on Holy Empire but was riding Zac Spirit, got his mount to breathe down the leader's neck at the 300m mark.

From there, the battle began in earnest and the rest was history.

Munro had thought that he would win easily when Zac Spirit gave him a kick when asked at the top of the spirit, but found the Michael Freedman-trained Holy Empire very stubborn indeed.

Said the Englishman: "Yeah, it was great because Holy Empire had the advantage. He kicked first and, you know, it was a race from the 500m.

"I went to him easily, very comfortably, like I was going to beat him by three lengths but, you know, that horse was hard to beat.

"He's a very good horse, Holy Empire...probably off today, at his level, he would have won, won't he?

Munro said Zac Spirit was very manageable although the speed was not on.

"Today, I mean, there was no speed," said the Longines Singapore Gold Cup-winning rider.

"He wanted to come back and it was a canter really, so for a big strong horse like that, he was very manageable and, you know, he was very professional.

"When I asked him to go, he really fights. So, as far as trip goes, maybe you could stretch him out a little bit... probably 1,400m not the best for him.

"Well, he's an explosive horse, I think, maybe he needs to go further. Could try him."

 Race 1 KS-D 1100m

2 FAT BOBO 58 (265-45) J Powell (4) 5 3 1 (545) -

6 NOT SIMPLE 56.5 (33-7) D Flores (10) 3 2 2 (514) 2.5

5 ZAC SUGGESTION 56.5 c 55.5 (112-30) K A'Isisuhairi* (9) 8 5 3 (528) 2

4 INTENTION 56.5 (11-8) M Nunes (8) 1 1 4 (492) Nk

7 LIGHTNING MAC 56.5 c 55.5 (100-20) R Shafiq* (2) 7 8 5 (489) 2.25

3 GOOD BUDDY 58 c 54 (22-8) LQ Kek* (1) 6 7 6 (469) Nk

10 LADY POWER 52 (93-18) A Munro (7) 10 10 7 (434) 1.25

8 FRAGRANCE EMPIRE 55 (57-13) I Santana (5) 2 4 8 (524) 1

1 PALOMBARO 58 c 56 (31-7) Z Zuriman* (6) 4 6 9 (520) 0.5

11 ZENA 50.5 c 50 (233-43) TK Barnabas* (3) 9 9 10 (470) 0.75

Winning stable: Fatboy. Trainer: L Dragon. Time: 1min 05.99sec (Going: good). Forecast: $227. Tierce: $12744. Quartet: No winner ($25308 jackpot carried forward to next race). P Forecast: $86 (2-6), $62 (6-5), $151 (2-5). Trio: $800. Quadro: $421. Course scratching: 9:Street Ruffian 

 Race 2 RM 1100m

10 HIMALAYA DRAGON 55.5 (60-15) S John (12) 7 6 1 (512) -

4 ENGLISH DREAM 57 c 56 (230-52) K A'Isisuhairi* (11) 1 1 2 (454) 0.75

11 GOLDEN BRILLIANT 53.5 (13-7) D Flores (1) 6 7 3 (520) 0.75

1 DRAGON WALK 57 (15-5.10) D Beasley (5) 2 2 4 (495) 1

9 HAPPY PRINCESS 55.5 (55-15) M Nunes (8) 4 4 5 (483) 0.5

12 SUPER BIG 53.5 (27-8) I Santana (4) 8 9 6 (479) 1

8 STATE GENERAL 57 c 54 (274-50) T See* (2) 10 8 7 (515) 0.5

2 MALA MALA 57 (108-25) C Brown (10) 5 5 8 (507) 1.25

3 HAPPY CAT 57 c 54 (693-129) J See* (6) 12 10 9 (461) 3.5

6 PERFECT PREDATOR 57 (315-55) L Allpress (3) 3 3 10 (499) 4

7 SPEEDY KID 57 (602-94) YF Leong (7) 11 12 11 (512) 9.5

5 MR VICTORY 57 (69-14) O Chavez (9) 9 11 12 (541) 0.5

Winning owner: FL Chan. Trainer: S Yeoh. Time: 1min 06.50sec (good). Forecast: $902. Tierce: $20954. Quartet: $62644. P Forecast: $123 (10-4), $34 (4-11), $12 (10-11). Trio: $354. Quadro: $222.

 Race 3 C4 1600m

7 YES BABA 55 (24-9) C Brown (5) 4 4 1 (474) -

6 GREEN JACKET 55 (115-25) A Munro (7) 3 3 2 (536) 1

4 PROFOUND 55.5 (17-7) D Beasley (8) 2 2 3 (518) 0.75

2 EISENHEIM 56 (22-9) M Nunes (9) 9 8 4 (500) 1.75

5 DAAD'S THE WAY 55 c 53 (52-12) Z Zuriman* (2) 1 1 5 (494) 1

9 ZAC SEDUCTION 52 c 50 (25-8) J See* (1) 8 5 6 (476) Ns

3 PHANTOM KNIGHT 55.5 c 52.5 (51-15) R Rueven* (10) 5 7 7 (496) Nk

10 OVER EASY 50.5 (200-41) I Saifudin (4) 10 9 8 (536) 1.75

1 TWO M AND M 57 (82-18) B Vorster (6) 6 6 9 (519) 4.75

8 SILVER STREAK 54.5 c 52.5 (310-58) TH Koh* (3) 7 10 10 (464) 17.5

Winning stable: Tmen. Trainer: P Shaw. Time: 1min 41.17sec (good). Forecast: $150. Tierce: $600. Quartet: $2801. P Forecast: $38 (7-6), $26 (6-4), $6 (7-4). Trio: $88. Quadro: $97.

 Race 4 KS-D 1700m

3 SOUTH GATE 56.5 (84-24) I Saifudin (4) 7 5 1 (523) -

2 BEAUTIFUL WORLD 56.5 (11-6) M Nunes (7) 1 1 2 (582) 1

1 CHEETAH 58 (78-21) D Beasley (11) 3 3 3 (504) 3.5

9 BLACK BEAN 55 c 54 (30-12) K A'Isisuhairi* (6) 2 2 4 (439) Nk

8 RON 55 (79-19) V Leal (12) 9 4 5 (495) 1

10 JET COSMO 55 (99-20) S John (3) 10 8 6 (478) 0.5

13 JOHNNY HATES JAZZ 53.5 (38-12) I Santana (5) 6 10 7 (445) 2.75

7 WEOWNA FLYER 55 c 52 (57-14) J See* (10) 12 12 8 (467) Ns

6 MY NEW BOSS 55 c 52 (94-22) R Rueven* (9) 11 11 9 (498) 1.25

5 CAN'T TOUCH ME 55 (60-13) B Vorster (1) 5 6 10 (460) Nk

12 STRIDE METEOR 53.5 (157-39) A Munro (2) 8 9 11 (503) 1.5

11 NOVEMBER SUCCESS 53.5 (227-47) Marcus Au (8) 4 7 12 (436) 0.5

Winning stable: Sky. Trainer: Leslie Khoo. Time: 1min 47.29sec (good). Forecast: $44. Tierce: $1646. Quartet: No winner ($17998 jackpot carried forward to next race). P Forecast: $20 (3-2), $10 (2-1), $46 (3-1). Trio: $162. Quadro: $227. Course scratching: 4:Street

Champ 

 Race 5 GH (LC) 1200m

2 FAALTLESS 55 (10-5.10) D Beasley (7) 1 1 1 (484) -

7 ROOM FOR EXCUSE 52 (17-6) A Munro (5) 7 5 2 (483) 0.75

5 GEARIGURU 55 (134-31) D Flores (4) 2 2 3 (471) 2.5

6 AMAZON GOLD 52 (47-14) L Allpress (1) 4 4 4 (484) Nk

1 BORDEAUX 55 (20-6) C Brown (6) 3 3 5 (487) 0.5

8 NARUTO 52 (139-30) B Vorster (3) 5 6 6 (553) 2.5

4 ACOUSTIC 55 (62-16) O Chavez (2) 6 7 7 (506) 1.25

Winning stable: MA Racing. Trainer: S Baertschiger. Time: 1min 11.01sec (good). Forecast: $9. Tierce: $211. Quartet: $938. P Forecast: $3 (2-7), $19 (7-5), $16 (2-5). Trio: $50. Quadro: $71. Course scratching: 3:Savodan 

 Race 6 C3 D2 1200m

6 DESERT FOX 54 (14-7) M Nunes (7) 6 4 1 (447) -

10 FARETTI 51.5 (56-14) I Santana (10) 8 6 2 (494) 2.75

5 SELIGI 54.5 c 52.5 (102-20) J Kah (2) 7 7 3 (523) 2.5

2 SPEED DEMON 56.5 (78-20) O Chavez (8) 2 2 4 (509) 0.75

7 YIN JIE 53.5 (12-5.10) D Beasley (4) 1 1 5 (534) Ns

3 DOUBLE STAR 55.5 c 52.5 (30-10) R Rueven* (6) 3 3 6 (483) 0.5

9 EATONS GOLD 52 (64-18) C Brown (5) 4 5 7 (505) 0.75

4 RISING EMPIRE 55 (139-30) D Flores (9) 5 8 8 (503) Nk

1 BAZINGA 57 c 53 (228-58) WS Chan* (3) 9 9 9 (559) 3.5

8 WAR TIME 52.5 (382-68) L Allpress (1) 10 10 10 (540) 9.5

Winning stable: Mummify. Trainer: M Freedman. Time: 1min 11.63sec (good). Forecast: $25. Tierce: $604. Quartet: $2868. P Forecast: $8 (6-10), $33 (10-5), $16 (6-5). Trio: $116. Quadro: $260.

 Race 7 OP (LC) 1600m

6 WILD GEESE 53.5 c 52.5 (22-8) K A'Isisuhairi* (5) 4 4 1 (520) -

8 BENDICION 50 c 51.5 (20-8) A Munro (3) 3 2 2 (470) 0.5

4 TROPAIOS 55.5 (16-7) M Nunes (1) 7 5 3 (458) Ns

3 MARTIN 56 (36-9) D Beasley (4) 6 7 4 (528) 1.75

2 FLYING FULTON 57 c 56 (114-23) R Shafiq* (7) 5 6 5 (549) 1.25

5 CITY LAD 54.5 (27-9) D Flores (8) 1 1 6 (490) Nk

7 DAMO 50 (67-15) B Vorster (6) 2 3 7 (474) 1

1 SPEEDY CAT 59 (132-26) J Powell (2) 8 8 8 (485) 2.75

Winning stable: Hippocrates. Trainer: S Burridge. Time: 1min 34.71sec (good). Forecast: $19. Tierce: $90. Quartet: $273. P Forecast: $6 (6-8), $5 (8-4), $7 (6-4). Trio: $12. Quadro: $12.

 Race 8 C5 1100m

9 ALWAYS A WINNER 54 c 51 (21-9) WL Tan* (2) 4 3 1 (479) -

8 FANTASTIC BOY 55.5 c 54.5 (46-13) K A'Isisuhairi* (10) 11 11 2 (465) 2

7 LUCKY EIGHTY EIGHT 56 c 54 (36-11) T Rehaizat* (4) 10 8 3 (455) Nk

12 RED SENSATION 50 c 47 (121-34) I Andy (8) 2 2 4 (477) Nk

1 DESTINY GENERAL 59 c 56 (159-34) T See* (11) 6 9 5 (464) 1

10 WONDER GENERAL 51.5 c 50 (36-11) WS Chan* (5) 7 5 6 (486) 1

2 GOOD BOSS 59 c 56 (12-5.10) J See* (1) 5 7 7 (536) 0.75

13 SMART CHOICE 52.5 c 49.5 (325-58) R Rueven* (12) 3 4 8 (488) Nk

6 ZAC APPEAL 56.5 c 54.5 (190-35) TH Koh* (6) 1 1 9 (468) Ns

14 WIN THE DAY 50 c 49.5 (331-70) TK Barnabas* (3) 8 6 10 (501) 2.25

11 SUBDUE 50 c 50.5 (93-19) P Dellorto* (7) 12 12 11 (559) 1.5

5 LAM EDITION 57 c 53 (196-48) LQ Kek* (9) 9 10 12 (458) 3.25

Winning stable: Trend. Trainer: Leslie Khoo. Time: 1min 07.00sec (good). Forecast: $27. Tierce: $275. Quartet: $2717. P Forecast: $11 (9-8), $10 (8-7), $11 (9-7). Trio: $49. Quadro: $250. Course scratchings: 3:Bally Boy 4:Bold Bid 

 Race 9 SG3 (LC) 1400m

Three Rings Trophy

2 ZAC SPIRIT 55 (9-5.10) A Munro (5) 3 2 1 (533) -

1 HOLY EMPIRE 57.5 (21-13) M Nunes (2) 1 1 2 (510) Nk

6 GOODMAN 50.5 c 51 (16-7) C Brown (1) 2 3 3 (519) 1.5

4 BALE STAR 54 (62-21) B Vorster (6) 6 5 4 (467) 3

3 GOLIATH 54 (210-54) K A'Isisuhairi* (3) 5 4 5 (572) 2.25

5 EMPRESS WU 52.5 (53-21) I Santana (4) 4 6 6 (474) 23.25

Winning stable: Zac. Trainer: C Brown. Time: 1min 23.87sec (good). Forecast: $6. Tierce: $15. Quartet: $31. Trio: $4. Quadro: $6.

 Race 10 C3 D1 1200m

1 SUPER KENNY 57.5 (26-8) B Vorster (7) 1 1 1 (498) -

3 ASTROSTAR 56 (11-5.10) I Santana (5) 4 4 2 (499) Hd

2 CORONET PEAK 56.5 (15-5.10) A Munro (9) 3 3 3 (507) 0.75

5 KNIGHT'S COMMAND 54.5 c 52.5 (199-39) Z Zuriman* (4) 8 7 4 (480) Hd

4 ENCOSTA DIABLO 55.5 (105-21) L Allpress (1) 7 5 5 (512) 0.75

6 SOLITAIRE 54 (33-9) D Beasley (8) 9 9 6 (534) 2.5

7 PRINCESS SARAH 53.5 (664-79) YF Leong (6) 5 6 7 (484) 1.25

9 MEDIA CAPTAIN 52 (164-30) C Brown (3) 2 2 8 (545) 0.5

8 EXCAVATOR 53 (166-31) I Saifudin (2) 6 8 9 (514) 1.25

Winning stable: Tmen. Trainer: P Shaw. Time: 1min 12.06sec (good). Forecast: $13. Tierce: $66. Quartet: $647. P Forecast: $5 (1-3), $3 (3-2), $6 (1-2). Trio: $9. Quadro: $27.

 Race 11 C4 (LC) 1400m

6 DANNY RICARDO 55.5 (32-9) S John (13) 8 6 1 (481) -

11 VECTIS 53 (45-16) A Munro (8) 4 3 2 (459) Nk

1 SUPER SHADOW 57.5 c 54.5 (96-26) S Noh* (4) 2 1 3 (489) 1

2 SPYDER 57 (34-13) B Vorster (14) 9 9 4 (480) 0.5

9 COLLECT THE CASH 55 (30-8) I Santana (11) 11 11 5 (571) 0.5

14 DANNY 50 c 47.5 (36-12) R Rueven* (1) 10 10 6 (439) Nk

12 BREAKING VAULTS 52 (43-17) C Brown (9) 5 5 7 (532) Nk

3 SIR FLEETWOOD 56.5 (182-43) D Flores (3) 7 7 8 (515) 0.5

4 CALIFORNIAN JET 56 (21-11) M Nunes (12) 6 8 9 (470) 1.5

7 DREAMCATCHER 55.5 c 54.5 (105-27) R Shafiq* (10) 3 4 10 (495) 1

5 LIGHT BRIGADE 56 (230-52) S Sam (2) 14 12 11 (482) 0.5

13 FUKU'S PET 50 c 48 (344-69) WL Tan* (5) 1 2 12 (477) Hd

10 TAVAN BOGD 55 c 54 (291-55) K A'Isisuhairi* (6) 12 13 13 (524) 9.75

8 ANODOUBT 55 c 54 (999-153) M Kellady (7) 13 14 14 (503) Ns

Winning stable: Wilson Racing. Trainer: B Dean. Time: 1min 22.99sec (good). Forecast: $76. Tierce: $3804. Quartet: $13319. P Forecast: $21 (6-11), $96 (11-1), $69 (6-1). Trio: $659. Quadro: $629. Course scratchings: 15:Sweet Beauty 16:Golden Dominator