Autumn Assault (NZ) (Rock ‘n’ Pop) was never in doubt once he emerged at the 300m mark to go and gap his rivals with consummate ease in the S$50,000 Class 4 Division 2 race, smashing the Polytrack 1100m in the process.
Autumn Assault recorded 1min 3.97secs, which is 0.12 shaved off the record established by Skywalk (NZ) (Battle Paint) earlier in the year, a stunning result given the four-year-old had not raced for seven months.
A recent stable transfer from trainer David Kok, Autumn Assault indeed got into a race of his own when Kok allowed him to stride away from his handy spot behind leader Performante (NZ) (Super Easy) upon straightening.
Hammered late into $10 favouritism, the SIN-HK Friendship No 2 Stable-owned gelding took no prisoners when he shot clear at the 200m, going on to street his rivals by five lengths.
“I was confident he would run well. He had three soft trials,” said Burridge.
“He had chip bones removed from the knee. David Kok has done a great job with him, but the horse had no luck at his last few starts.
“I was lucky enough to get him at the right time, and the trick to him is to keep him sound. (Assistant-trainer) Richard Lim has also done a good job with him.
“I could have put a senior rider on him tonight, but Simon is riding so well and a two-kilo claim won’t hurt.
“As long as he stays sound, he will be right as he’s run in very good company like Bold Thruster (Turffontein) and Lim’s Lightning (Lope de Vega) before.”
Kok was struggling to contain his excitement about the way Autumn Assault quickened away inside the last two furlongs.
“I thought he would change one gear, but he gave me two gears!” said Kok.
“It’s a fantastic feeling. This horse is at another level and I was surprised to see 1min 3.97secs on the board.
“The pace was on and he travelled at his own rhythm. I didn’t want to disturb him and he was just too good in the end.”
A previous two-time winner under Kok’s care, Autumn Assault has now taken his prizemoney level around the $130,000 mark for his connections.
