Lord Justice (NZ) (Showcasing) was the headline act with his fourth win in a row on a great day for New Zealand-bred horses in Singapore on Saturday.
The Showcasing gelding has had veterinary issues throughout a career that looked to be stalling at stages and if not for the patience of his owners he may have retired long ago.
Stepping up to Class 3 company for the first time in the Japan Racing Association Trophy, Lord Justice was sent out favourite and despite drifting out in the final stages took the win by a length and a quarter.
Trainer Donna Logan’s assistant-trainer Hamsha Aloysius not only had two horses to saddle in the Class 4 race over 1200m – but also a jockey to find for Luxury Brand (NZ) (Charm Spirit) after apprentice jockey Yusoff Fadzli had a fall in the previous race.
He was declared unfit to ride after that so Iskandar answered the late call. With quick riding instructions ringing in his ear, he headed to the 1200m start on second-favourite.
After taking a sit behind the leaders and peeling off heels to sit on his stablemate Fadaboy’s flank on the bend, Luxury Brand made his challenge early in the straight before kicking away strongly for the win.
“There’s plenty of upsides to him,” said Hamsha. “We still haven’t got to the bottom of him, so we will enjoy this for now and see how he pulls up.”
The winning hoop was also impressed with what he saw.
“You know this one is an amazing horse,” said Iskandar, who rode a double earlier courtesy of Happy Moment (NZ) (Showcasing).
“I have never ridden this horse, so I just followed the instructions and parked him behind the leader.
“He was a little nervous behind the barrier but once he jumped and I got him to relax, he did the job.
“He’s a nice horse and very easy to ride.”
Owner Kylie Bax from the BAX Racing Stable was ecstatic after the race from her home in New Zealand.
Earlier in the day debutant Flying Nemo (NZ) (Vespa) flashed home late in the Restricted Maiden race (1000m) to hand jockey Simon Kok Wei Hoong the perfect gift on his 27th birthday.
The young Malaysian hoop partnered Flying Nemo at his two barrier trials prior to his first run and was well aware of the improvement he has made.
“The owners are Singaporean businessmen and friends of (trainer) Desmond Koh,” said stable representative Lee Soo Hin. “They bought the horse together at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Online Yearling Sale last year.
“He cost only NZ$7,000, what a good buy. We might set him for a Novice race next.”
With that first win from his only start in Singapore, Flying Nemo has now earned more than S$40,000 in prizemoney for the connections.
Other New Zealand-bred winners on the card included Seson (NZ) (Dalghar), Hyde Park (NZ) (Darci Brahma), and Engine Start (NZ) (Highly Recommended).
