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After a surprisingly good last-start performance saved Mr Exchequer from a lorry trip along the North-South Expressway, a gutsy ensuing win on Friday night turned out to be the perfect thank-you note to connections for keeping the faith in him.

Trainer Shane Baertschiger had already booked a Malaysian-bound float ticket for the Savabeel six-year-old, but a gallant third in a Class 4 race over 1800m on January 31 gave him second thoughts.

Following discussions with the owner, the Hi Vis Racing Stable, the Australian handler told the driver to be on his way without the four-time winner, whose last victory for his former owner, the MA Racing Stable, dated back to March 9, 2018.

That was in the heyday of Mr Exchequer, who three races later, even lined up in the Group 1 Emirates Singapore Derby (1800m), albeit without flattering.

It has been downhill since, with a bleeding attack compounding matters further. His ratings had steadily been slipping to fall below 60 points at his penultimate outing, before that last spike raised it back to 61.

The outermost alley in Friday's race did dampen the mood, but following an off-the-cuff handling from astute judge of pace John Powell, Mr Exchequer scraped home by a nose from Iron Ruler (Louis-Philippe Beuzelin) to vindicate connections in giving him a second chance at Kranji.

"He is a bleeder and he was actually supposed to go to Malaysia two weeks ago, but he ran so well at his last start we kept him, and it's paid off," said Baertschiger.

"This horse was pretty smart in the early days. He ran in the Guineas and the Derby; if not for his breathing issues, he could have been higher up in grade.

"Tonight, he got to the front, dictated and he won."

Baertschiger hoped that fifth win under his belt can call for more now that the winning flair has been rekindled, while cautioning he still remained a day-to-day proposition, even if he has tweaked his racing programme accordingly.

"I like to run him at night as it's not so hot," he said. "But not when it rains as it'd then be too humid for him."

Powell revealed that the original plan was to take up a handy berth, but with nobody keen to go forward, he rolled with it.

"The other day, he was fifth or sixth on the fence, and it didn't work out, but tonight from the wide draw, I wanted to be one out one back," said the Australian jockey.

"But as it was so bunched up, we ended up outside the leader. It was still a soft lead, and he hit the line strongly in the end.

"It was close, but I thought I'd won."

With that fifth win, Mr Exchequer has seen his prizemoney level swell close to the $240,000 mark for the Hi Vis Racing Stable.