Brazilian jockey Bernardo Pinheiro continued his stellar run of form in the saddle after he equalled his best haul of five wins a day in Singapore on Saturday for a second time.
The red-hot hoop kicked off the day with a win on Windfall ($20) in the $30,000 Class 5 Division 1 race over 1200m for trainer Ricardo Le Grange and bookended the meeting in the Lucky Last with Energy Baby ($18) in the $70,000 Class 3 race over 1400m for trainer Jerome Tan.
His three other wins on Saturday were the Le Grange-trained Strike Gold ($9) in the Class 4 Division 1 race over 1200m and Wind Of Dubai ($40) in the $30,000 Class 5 Division 2 race over 1200m and Jin Sakamoto ($24) in the $30,000 Class 4 Division 2 race over 1200m, both for trainer Richard Lim.
It was a memorable day for Pinheiro and it was perhaps his ride in the last race that showed the confidence he brought to every race. He sat favourite Energy Baby (x Rich Enuff) into third last on the fence while Aniki (Bruno Queiroz) made the pace with the speedy Lord’s Command (Faiz Khair) on his shoulder.
As the field turned into the straight, Pinheiro still had a wall of horses in front of him, albeit confident as they found a calculated path. When the pair found clean air at the 300m, the chase got serious with three lengths to make up on Aniki.
The gap closed quickly and while Te Akau Ben (Wong Chin Chuen) kept him company late to finish half-a-length back in second, Energy Baby had the race won by the 100m, making it a relatively easy watch for his supporters.
Aniki stayed on well another half-a-length back in third. The winning time was 1 min 22.34 secs for the 1400m on the Long Course. Energy Baby’s fifth win from 27 starts took his prizemoney to over $230,000 for connections.
Pinheiro’s five wins on the day came off an all-time high of six wins in one meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last Sunday, which included the Group 1 Selangor Gold Cup (1600m) on Antipodean, making it 11 wins from 20 rides in the last six days.
Furthermore, the 29-year-old jockey also hit his 700th milestone win in a huge week.
“There’s no words to describe how happy I am or how proud I am of my achievements in the last few months,” said Pinheiro, who previously claimed five wins in Singapore on 30 June last year.
“I’m enjoying every day at the moment, especially as Kranji is closing, so to ride five winners was amazing.
“None of this would be possible without support from trainers and owners.
“I’m fit and prepare as well as I can every week, but you still have to be on the good horses.
“So, I’m forever thankful to all the trainers and owners who supported me and I’m glad that I can repay them with winners.
“And thanks to my wife, Gabriela, who is always by my side.”
Of his winning ride on Energy Baby, Pinheiro praised Tan for having a plan to suit the situation.
“I had a good discussion with Jerome on how best to ride this horse fresh,” he explained.
“We have a good relationship, and I know the horse well, so we thought the best way to win today would be to settle him (Energy Baby) back and give him a chance to finish off in the race.
“Jerome had given him a break, so he wasn’t 100% fit and it was a tough Class 3 race, but he was ready to win if things went his way.
“I was happy to save ground on the fence at the back of the field and I told Jerome after the race that I knew at the 700m if we had some luck, we would go very close.
“The gaps opened at the right moment and everything went perfectly. It was a nice win and I’m very happy for Jerome and the owners (Happy Baby Stable).”
By Larry Foley
