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After having slipped under the radar for a little while, Destroyer Eclipse put up a strong performance to return to winning ways in the $70,000 Class 3 race over 1600m on Sunday.
Twice unplaced and once third (last start in a similar Class 3 race over 1600m on April 7) at his three runs since his last success in a Kranji Stakes C race over 1400m in February, the four-year-old son of Alamosa enjoyed a cosy run in the box-seat behind favourite Karisto (Ben Thompson).
The previous three-time winner (1200m to 1400m) could have been in some strife had he been kept in a tight pocket, but as the field fanned across the track upon cornering, his rider Vlad Duric popped him off the rails to set sail after Karisto.
There was a distinct possibility Lee Freedman’s and China Horse Club’s Singapore Derby hopeful would be a hard nut to crack after the fairly cheap sectionals he got away with at the head of affairs.
That was indeed the script that played out as Karisto put up a titanic struggle when Destroyer Eclipse drew on level terms at the 300m. A bit of a bumping duel ensued, and for a second or two, the tide could swing either way, but Duric is just too tough to beat in a tight finish.
Always holding a head in front, Destroyer Eclipse just kept whacking away, hanging on for dear life to that slender advantage all the way to the wire.
King’s Speech (Simon Kok Wei Hoong) stuck on well for third another one and three-quarter lengths away. A market drifter who started at lukewarm odds of 7-1, Destroyer Eclipse ran the 1600m on the Short Course in 1min 35.52secs to complete a fantastic weekend for the Indonesian-owned outfit across both sides of the Causeway.
Mr Iman Hartono scored a double in Kuala Lumpur with two short-priced favourites, Forsa Eclipse ($6) in the highlight in the Malaysian capital, Heat 2 of the Malaysia Three-Year-Old Championship 2019 (1200m) and former Kranji resident Skydance Eclipse ($8) in the Advancetc Xplore Trophy, a Class 3 race over 1400m.
Winning trainer James Peters, who is currently riding on the crest of a mini wave having saddled a double on Friday (Well Deserved and Skywalk), said Destroyer Eclipse did not take him by surprise.
“I did fancy him today. He’s been working well, he had a good barrier (three), and it’s worked out perfect for him,” said the English trainer who was climbing to ninth spot on the log with that 14th winner for the season.
“Horses are running well. We’ve been having many seconds and thirds, but it’s good to get the winners now.”
Duric, who has now ridden Destroyer Eclipse to three of his four wins, said the former hothead had mended his ways thanks to Peters’ patience.
“This horse has improved with every run. James has been at the barriers just to keep him calm,” said the two-time Singapore champion jockey who was at a riding double having snared the annual two-year-old series Singapore Golden Horseshoe series’ first Leg with Big Hearted (see previous report) earlier.
“He was quite headstrong, but with more racing, he has learned to settle better. He had a lovely run behind Karisto, even if I’m not sure they backed the speed off.
“Anyway, he had all the favours and he fought tenaciously to the line. It was a little bit of an unknown if he could tackle Karisto when I peeled him out.
“We’re not sure what is the bottom line to that horse, but I got an opportunity to level peg him and I then threw everything at him.”
Destroyer Eclipse, who was giving popular New Zealand sire Alamosa back-to-back wins after the Michael Clements-trained Alamak saluted one race earlier (see previous report), has now seen his prizemoney level tip just over the $200,000 mark for the Eclipse Stable, whose Mr Hartono and racing manager Eoin Sullivan certainly won’t forget that red-letter day across the two neighbouring Malayan Racing Association jurisdictions.
