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Lim’s Craft’s return from the grave to get back on the scoresheet in the $100,000 Kranji Stakes A race (1400m)
The race would have on any given day been most scribes' highlight of the meeting, but without taking anything away from Steven Burridge's feat of nurturing the gelding back to health, let alone back to the winner's circle, the achievement was somewhat overshadowed by the cliffhanger of Sunday's ultimate 2020 meeting coming to a head in that race – Vlad Duric winning his fourth consecutive Singapore champion jockey title.
The Australian jockey went into the meeting four winners clear, but after challenger Ruan Maia knocked one off with Knight Love in the preceding race ($50,000 Class 4 speed dash over 1000m) to bring the gap down to three winners, the Brazilian jockey could not afford any defeat from his remaining four rides in order to wrest the title from Duric.
A tie in the number of wins (65) would still hand victory to Duric on a countback for seconds.
Maia was aboard Fame Star in the Kranji Stakes A race, but after the favourite bombed the start, Duric could already wrap one hand around the trophy handle.
Fame Star, who was having his first run for trainer Leslie Khoo, did loop around the small bunched-up seven-horse field to draw on level terms with leader and recent Group 2 EW Barker Trophy winner Nepean (Matthew Kellady) around the home turn, but his early efforts unfortunately told.
After settling in fifth place in the running, Lim's Craft (Wong Chin Chuen, $42) was peeled out into the clear at the point of the turn, and once he was given his head, the Smart Missile five-year-old powered home to go and score by half-a-length from Churchill (Shafrizal Saleh) with last-start winner Magic Wand (Krisna Thangamani) third another three-quarter length away.
The winning time was 1min 22.81secs for the 1400m on the Short Course.
Fame Star wilted to run fourth another 1 ¼ lengths away, but Duric wouldn't have paid much attention even if it were a nose-second so long as Maia's name was not semaphored as the winner.
"I was really nervous going into that last meeting. I actually missed the start of the race (on TV), but when I saw Maia's horse was pulling, I knew it'd be hard for him," said Duric who watched the second half of the race in the jockeys' room.
"Maia is a good rider, but luckily, I'm the one who fell in at the end. Congratulations to Maia as he's had a really good season, I think next year will be his to lose.
"As for myself, I'm suspended for two meetings (careless riding from last Saturday) after today. I will give myself a break and have a slow start to the new season."
Jockeys' premiership fingernail-biting drama aside, it was Lim's Craft's miraculous survival from under the knife to the winner's circle that was uppermost on Burridge's mind when he came down to lead in winner No 20 for the year.
"He nearly died. He had colic about five months ago," said the Australian mentor.
"We had to open up his stomach and lay it all out, and get it back in. It took a long time for him to get back.
"He had two runs but they were more to loosen up, and the last one was on a heavy track. We couldn't get a good guide on that.
"Today, we got some help when Fame Star missed the start and Nepean also needs a wet track, but after a colic surgery, not many can come back and do what he did. It shows how good he is."
Wong can vouch for the quality he had in his hands, having also been able to test it at two prior starts.
"I rode this horse at his last two starts and I knew him better after that," said the former two-time Singapore champion apprentice jockey.
"He was nice and relaxed throughout. I waited as long as I could before launching him, and when I did, he gave me a very nice turn of foot."
Lim's Craft has now brought his handy record to five wins and three placings from 15 starts for stakes earnings around the $230,000 mark for the Lim's Stable.
