3 minute read
They don't team up all that often, but jockey Michael Rodd was able to seal a rare win for trainer Shane Baertschiger aboard Red Dawn in Sunday’s last race.
Even though both Australians figure among the two leading players in their respective ranks at Kranji, they shared only two previous victories together until Red Dawn bounced back to form (last win was back in April) to land the $50,000 Class 4 race over 1200m.
It was at his first season in Singapore in 2015 that Rodd scored for Baertschiger with Best Tothelign on August 30 and Battle Horse two weeks later on September 11, but it has been a barren run for the two men since.
Rodd, who was at his fifth season in Singapore, rides mainly for Cliff Brown, and is also restricted by his weight while Baertschiger, who took over his father Don in 2012, seldom uses other jockeys other than his two stable jockeys John Powell and Matthew Kellady. If Powell cannot make the weight, Kellady steps up, or sometimes Baertschiger resorts to claimers.
But with three runners entered in Sunday's last race, Baertschiger needed a third rider, and with Red Dawn 's allotted 57.5kgs well within Rodd's handicap range, the top jockey, who happened to also be available, was snapped up.
Kellady was on Vulcan and Baertschiger used four-kilo claimer Yusoff Fadzli for debutant Arnantara, who was widely-tipped to score first-up following his smart barrier trials and handy New Zealand form of two wins from three starts.
But it was the good old Red Dawn ($61) who stole his thunder with a thrilling win while Arnantara still put in an encouraging run to finish third, one length off his stablemate. Eastiger (Alysha Collett) split the Baertschiger pair by taking second place a length off Red Dawn. The winning time was 1min 9.76secs for the 1200m on the Short Course.
"I've had a few rides for Stretch before, but it's been a while since my last win. It's good to win another one for him," said Rodd who was at his 314th Singapore winner.
"This horse had no luck at his last races and still put in smart runs. They went silly in front, and when I pulled him out, I knew he would win.
"He is a Class 3 type of horse even though he is eight years of age now."
Raced by one of Baertschiger's longest-standing owners, the Auric Stable of Jerry Sung, Red Dawn, a son of Align, has now racked up eight wins and 14 placings from 57 starts for stakes earnings closing in on the half-a-million mark.
Baertschiger was delighted one of his three-pronged attack had struck paydirt, never mind if it was not the one most had been tipping. Vulcan also ran well, stalking up race-leader Grand Choice (Tengku Rehaizat) from the start, before fading late to run fifth, just a tick under two lengths off Red Dawn.
"As we had runners only in the seventh and the last race, we came in even later after the delay in the first race (one hour after a failure in the betting system)," said Baertschiger.
"We finished later than planned, but the good result in the last race was well worth the wait. All three horses ran well.
"It's not often that Roddy rides a winner for me. He rode Red Dawn very well and the new horse (Arnantara) went good, too.
"He wants further and with one run under the belt, he will gain in fitness and will take improvement from the run."
