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Punters were right on the money after Coming Fast made a winning debut for trainer Desmond Koh in the $20,000 Open Maiden race over 1200m on Friday night.
While his barrier trials had not been earth-shattering, the four-year-old newcomer by Bon Hoffa still drew many admirers going on the way he was hammered late to start as the $9 favourite.
Shooting straight to the top of the queue from his handy gate, Coming Fast had some company in the shape of Wonosobo (Ruan Maia) and Clarton Supreme (John Powell), but had little trouble shaking them off once he was given his head by Noh Senari in the home straight.
Second favourite Clergyman (Vlad Duric) sprang forth as the only danger when he came whacking away on the outside in the last 200m, but well rated by Noh, Coming Fast hung on to scrape home by a short head.
Duric for one would not be surprised by Coming Fast's toughness. The sire Bon Hoffa gave the Singapore champion his first Group 1 win in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield in 2007.
Gold Prize (Ryan Munger) ran third another 1 ¾ lengths away. The winning time was 1min 11.45secs for the 1200m.
"This horse can get a bit hot. I didn't want him to get all worked up in the trials," said Koh.
"So, we gave him a few quiet trials. I wasn't sure if he had the natural speed to go forward at his debut, but from the good draw, it was worth trying and he landed in front quite easily.
"He got a bit tired in the end, but that's because he is only at his first run. He will come on from that first run.
"He is looking for more distance. We'll stretch him out and see how he goes."
Noh confirmed that Coming Fast had enough speed to live up to his name at barrier rise.
"He is a bold galloper and I just let him go in front by himself," said the Singaporean jockey.
"Ruan tried to pressure me, but my horse handled it well. I think he can go over a longer distance."
Coming Fast is the last of a trio of horses Koh's long-standing owner Tan Huat of Singapore Derby fame with Chase Me in 2012 recently sent to the Singaporean handler.
First off was Coming Through – who races on Sunday and is by far the best, having already notched four wins – while Coming Up has yet to score in four starts.
