Trainer Tim Fitzsimmons was thrilled after saddling a rare quartet in the $70,000 Elite Invincible 2018 Stakes on Sunday.
Greatham Boy took the top prize in the Class 3 race (1200m) after beating Mt Niseko by a length into second, while Gold Star and Hurricane ran another neck and three-quarter length away respectively.
Ridden by jockey Ryan Curatolo for the first time, Greatham Boy ($24) jumped swiftly from barrier one before being eased back fifth on the rails while favourite Pacific Vampire (Daniel Moor) dictated the pace upfront.
Turning for home, Greatham Boy switched out for his final assault when the leader still sat nicely about six lengths away. One furlong later, it would seem the Jason Ong-trained gelding had come under pumps but Greatham Boy was only starting to wind up on the outside.
The three-year-old son of Stratosphere raced past his rivals at the 100m and held off stablemate Mt Niseko (Chad Schofield), who lost no admirers for his brave effort in second, for his fifth win. The winning time was 1 min 10.17 seconds for the 1200m on the Long Course on the yielding ground.
The Australian handler was delighted with his quartet, albeit he thought Pacific Vampire would take some beating given his two wins in Class 3 races and a third in the Group 3 Silver Bowl (1200m) three weeks ago.
“I’m not surprised at all with how my horses ran, just not sure we’d be able to beat the favourite (Pacific Vampire),” said Fitzsimmons, who pulled off a double after Dancing Light ($18) also scored in the War Affair 2015 Stakes, a Class 4 race (1000m) in the Lucky Last.
“The way he (Pacific Vampire) won a few starts ago, (Singapore’s second highest-rated galloper) Golden Monkey would have struggled to beat him.
“But I was really happy with all my horses. My top two picks ran first and second (Greatham Boy and Mt Niseko).
“It’s taken me a while to work him (Greatham Boy) out. He needed to be ridden a bit quieter. That was two 10-out-of-10 rides given by (visiting jockey) Chad (Schofield) (in a Class 4 Division 2 race over the same trip on 18 May) and now, Ryan. It’s a great result.
“We’ll take it race by race but some of the guys (Greatham Boy Stable) are keen to look at the (Group 1) Lion City Cup (1200m), so we might look at that. We’ll see how he pulls up.”
One of the most coveted sprinting race in Singapore, the Lion City Cup will be run on 28 July this year.
French jockey Curatolo concurred that a quieter running pattern and the Long Course helped Greatham Boy win the race.
“I knew they would go a bit fast today, but I tracked Pacific Vampire on the Long Course because I thought he might be able to beat him (Pacific Vampire) on the Long Course,” he said.
“I knew him well from our morning trackwork. He’s a horse that’s better when he comes from behind.
“I did not disturb him, just took my time and and we got the win in the end.”
With five wins, one second and one third in 10 starts, Greatham Boy has amassed close to $210,000 in prizemoney for connections.
By Sharon Zhang
