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The well-backed Whistle Grand recorded a hard-fought win in the $50,000 Lim’s Racer 2016 Stakes, a Class 4 Division 1 race over 1400m on Saturday.
Vastly-improved since donning blinkers three runs back when victorious (for his second career win) in Class 5 company, the Coats Choice five-year-old again emerged as a serious threat when he was set alight the widest upon straightening.
Race-leader Lucky Imperator (Iskandar Rosman) was making every post a winning one at the 300m, but Whistle Grand ($37) would not let him give the slip as he loomed upsides.
The final outcome was, however, not quite cut and dried given Leslie Khoo's charge's inclination to shift out to the grandstand side. But Zyrul Nor Azman, who rode Whistle Grand to a fast-closing second last time out, would not let this one get away this time.
The New Zealand-trained rider gave his mount a few tastes of the persuader to keep his mind on the task at hand - win, and Whistle Grand responded in the best possible way to just outgun Lucky Imperator by a head.
Imperium (Ryan Munger) took third place another two lengths away. The winning time was 1min 23.19secs for the 1400m on the Short Course.
Khoo went on to saddle a race-to-race double - in fact his first double for the year - with $11 favourite Eunos Ave Three (Ruan Maia) breaking his maiden tag with an easy win in the $20,000 Super One 2015 Stakes, an Open Maiden race over 1200m.
Despite the good day at the office, the overall season yield had been anything but prolific for the former top jockey, who was enduring one of his worst campaigns since he moved down from Ipoh in 2008.
Whistle Grand had stood alone as his only winner (September 5) since racing resumed from the COVID-19 shutdown on July 11, but this late rally has come when there are only four meetings left.
It was still a welcomed haul that has now edged his score to eight winners, a far cry from his career-best record of 66 winners in 2011 when he finished runner-up to ex-Kranji trainer Patrick Shaw on the log.
"Most of my horses have dropped form this year, but some have picked up after the break, like Whistle Grand," said Khoo.
"He's actually been improving since he wore blinkers (at second run after the break). He's by a stallion whose progeny tends to get better as they get older."
Zyrul said the insight from the last ride coupled with his hard graft inside the last furlong paid off.
"I galloped him midweek and he felt good. Last time I rode him, he took a while to come out," he said.
"This time, Leslie told me to go early from the 400m and I made sure I came out earlier. It was a lot of work in the straight, and it's worked out all good."
With that third win from 16 starts, Whistle Grand has racked up close to $100,000 in prizemoney for the He's Dawan Stable, a long-time client of Khoo's, but which was previously better known as the Trend Stable.
