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Jockey Bernardo Pinheiro ended his Singapore stint with an early double on Sunday.
The young Brazilian jockey first booted home Fighting Hero ($33) for trainer Jason Ong in the $30,000 Class 5 Division 1 race (1200m) in the opener, before romping in an easy winner atop the Steven Burridge-trained Street Of Dreams in the $20,000 Maiden race (1200m) in the very next race.
Unlike Fighting Hero who saluted a winner from the inside, $12 favourite Street Of Dreams (Bernardo Pinheiro) had to tough it out from three-wide as the two leaders, Briggs (Manoel Nunes) and Great Command (Krisna Thangamani), led the field of 12 into the straight.
Upon turning, the son of Dundeel, 2013 Australian Triple Crown winner, burst upfront and took the lead in no time. He proved hard to mow down and went on to score by six-and-a-quarter length from Beyond Sacred (Shafrizal Saleh). Spirit Of D'Wind (Iskandar Rosman) finished another one-and-three-quarter length away in third.
The winning time was 1min 10.77 secs for the 1200m on the Polytrack, incidentally shaving off 0.2secs from Primitive Instinct's Class record nine years ago.
With one win and one second in five starts, Street Of Dreams has earned close to $30,000 in prizemoney for the Giovanni Stable.
Burridge revealed that the four-year-old gelding improved tremendously after a wind surgery. He praised the Singapore Turf Club vet surgeons for their huge effort.
"We did not expect him to win so easily," said the Australian conditioner.
"(Owner) Joe (Giovanni) bought him in New Zealand and he had one wind ops before he came to me.
"Then, he did another tie-back surgery after he ran in the Novice race (ninth to No More Delay on April 17). He was also gelded then.
"Big thanks to the Club's vets, Dr Dan Shaw and Dr Peter Briggs. They did a very good job with him.
"He was quite green when he was a colt but he's improved. We thought he would win at his last start (fifth to Trident in a Novice race over the 1400m on August 14) but it rained heavily and the track on the inside was bad, so we gave him a freshen-up.
"He trialled very well the other day (fourth to Illustrious on September 23) and his work has been good.
"He's done well today. We hope to step him up to the 1400m next and then maybe over the mile afterwards.
"He's Joe's only horse in Singapore now. Hopefully this win could give him a bit of a nudge along and get him to buy more for us.
"It's also good for Bernardo as that's his first winner for me. He did a great job."
Pinheiro credited the win to Burridge.
"I'm glad to be on board. It's only a Maiden race but he won it easy," he said.
"He had a bit of breathing issue previously and Steven fixed and managed it very well.
"He improved very well in the trials after the wind ops. He's fresh today and sat behind the leader. Once I asked him, he responded very well.
"I think he has plenty of future here and he can go up to the seven furlongs or the mile."
Unfortunately, it is also Pinheiro's first and last win for the affable trainer as his current stint in Singapore comes to a halt.
The Dubai-based rider, who opened his Kranji account with a double aboard Pennywise and Sky Eye at his one-day visit on May 21, was granted a five-month licence in Singapore from June 1 to October 31. He had plans to return to Dubai after that, where he is contracted to ride for trainer Majed Al Jahoori and Musabbeh Al Mheiri.
However, he was slapped with a two-month suspension after he was found guilty of not riding Mr Malek to the Stewards' satisfaction in a Class 1 race two weeks ago.
His sentence will begin on Monday and end on December 2, effectively cutting his stay in Singapore short, and forcing him to sit out for more than a month at the United Arab Emirates 2022/2023 racing season, which kicks off at the Al Ain Racecourse on October 28.
Though disappointed, Pinheiro has decided not to appeal against the Stewards' decision.
"I did not appeal. I have already said what I wanted to," said Pinheiro.
"It did affect me a lot, I was very upset the past few days. I would lose more than a month of riding time in Dubai as well, where I have two contracts.
"I have explained to them (the two Dubai trainers) and showed them the video, and they understood what happened.
"It's unfortunate but we move on. I'm just glad to have my wife (Gabriela), family and close friends supporting me.
"This (suspension) was a big bump for me, but I still love Singapore and the races here because they are competitive. I have put in my application for the next season after the Dubai season ends (on March 31, 2023), but we'll see what the future holds for me."
All-up, Pinheiro has clocked in 14 winners from 109 rides in Singapore this year. He also bagged 12 winners from three hit-and-run visits to Malaysia this season.
