3 minute read
For most of his Singapore career, Michael Clements was probably best summed up as a journeyman, a trainer who could have delivered so much more if he had the proper tools.
High expectations rested on the shoulders of the former two-time Zimbabwean champion when he came to Singapore in 1998, but success didn't happen overnight. In his first 14 years (up till 2012), he saddled around 300 winners, both at Bukit Timah when he first cut his teeth for a year or two, and Kranji.
If someone had told him then he would double that score in only seven years, he would have told that person to stop dreaming.
Seven years on, Clements had hit the 600-win milestone with the promise of more to come. Prime Time handed the affable horseman, who also doubles up as President of the Association of Racehorse Trainers Singapore, the landmark win in the $75,000 Restricted Maiden race over 1100m on Friday night.
While basking in the limelight of that new achievement, he acknowledged that it wouldn't have been possible without a major change in dynamics under his barn roof.
"My first 15 years have been pretty ordinary, we had ordinary results," said Clements who reached the half-century on February 23, 2018 with another Falcon ward, Quarter Back (Ryan Curatolo).
"I've only had good support in the last four or five years, we've had better quality horses and it clearly showed in our results.
"The quality of horses in Singapore in general has itself kept on improving. It's nice to get the 600th winner at Kranji, I won nine or 10 at Bukit Timah."
One of the new powerful owners to have given Clements that second lease of life has to be Mr Krit Chittaseni of Falcon Racing No 7 Stable, who happens to race Prime Time. A quick glance through the last few years would surely reveal at least one fifth of his bumped-up haul is owed to the horses in pale blue such as Top Knight, Quarter Back, Big Hearted and the list goes on, not to mention other Thai-owned horses like Siam Blue Vanda or Siam Vipasiri.
Prime Time may have been at only his first contribution to the tally on Friday night, but Clements and jockey Louis-Philippe Beuzelin could foresee a bright future from the way he knuckled down to the task to overhaul debutant Healthy Star (Juan Paul van der Merwe) right in the shadows of the post.
Sent out at $9, the Australian-bred three-year-old by Written Tycoon got up by a head from Healthy Star who lost no marks given he had to come across from his wider gate with Stunning Dragon (John Sundradas) making him work overtime before he could find the plastic.
At one stage, it looked like the Hong Kong-owned son of Per Incanto would get away with the early gut-buster as he held his line rather comfortably, but Beuzelin was riding like a man possessed inside the last 100m. Equal to the task, Prime Time kept chipping away at the margin to get the better of Healthy Star by a head with Eunos Avenue Three (Zuriman Zulkifli) third another 3 ¾ lengths away.
The winning time was 1min 4.71secs for the 1100m on the Polytrack.
"He got up too early, he didn't seem to have adapted," said Clements of Prime Time.
"We carried on with his preparation and he gained some racing experience which did him a lot of good. We then put him away and he came back better and stronger.
"He was a bit underdone after one trial when he came back, but he was fitter tonight and he ran on strongly."
Beuzelin was for his part making hay while the sun shines. He copped two suspensions for careless riding last weekend (both on Clements' horses, Siam Blue Vanda – who actually won - and Siam MP) which will sideline him for the rest of the season until the first meeting after the New Year Cup on January 1.
"My biggest worry tonight was his (Prime Time's) fitness level," said the French jockey.
"He's a nice horse. I liked him in the mornings, his work has been pleasant.
"Tonight, the other horse made us work to get him. Halfway through the bend, I thought there was no way we could pull it off.
"He will come on physically and mentally from that run. Watch him over the mile."
