A Double for Mark Walker

Te Akau Singapore trainer Mark Walker took his season's tally of wins to 58 when training a winning double at Kranji on Sunday - it was a terrific result for the 2015 Champion Singapore Trainer who currently lies on third position on this year's Premiership.

The first win came in the Open Benchmark 89 courtesy of the Raffles' team Viviano who New Zealanders would remember racing here before his owners sent him to Singapore to be trained by Mark Walker.  He has now started 12 times and recorded five wins with just on S$220,000 in prize money earned.

The second win was well deserved victory after a gutsy display by Awatere. Purchased by David Ellis from Karaka for just $50,000, the Charge Forward 3YO gelding is raced by the Forsyth family and has won two of his six starts - with almost S$90,000 in stakes' in the bank.

The Singapore Turf Club reported:

Two-time Singapore champion jockey Manoel Nunes sent a clear signal he had no intention of letting a third title slip away after he brought home a race-to-race double on Sunday.

It is a fact the momentum has been swinging the other way when Vlad Duric overtook Nunes in August and even went clear, and his days without winners were also starting to stretch more than they have in the past.

But the Brazilian jockey has been showing a return of form of late, riding winners at his last four meetings, and capping it with Sunday's brace (Splinter and Viviano) which has helped him come back on level terms with Duric on 56 winners.

Viviano (Manoel Nunes) races past Mycaptainoblivious to take out Race 3

Obviously, there are still 15 race meetings to go before they reach the wire, but one would be blind not to have seen the spring back in Nunes' step.

“Things are going well for me again.  Viviano, he's just a very honest horse. I had nowhere to go in the home straight, but once he saw daylight, he was too good.

“Mark Walker's horses are coming back to form since they went back to their stables, and that can only be good for me as well.”

The New Zealand was a big supporter of his last year for a combination claimed the honours in their respective premiership that season. With Walker overseas, assistant-trainer Gus Clutterbuck who now has an extra pair of hands to help him in former Hong Kong-based foreman Robbie Hewitson, was pleased with Viviano's return to winning ways.

“Viviano's a consistent horse but has been a bit unlucky at times. He looked in trouble but the gap came at the right moment,” said Clutterbuck.

“A big thank you to the Raffles Racing Stable who has been a great supporter of ours. It's great to see them win again with Viviano.”

A five-year-old by Keeper, Viviano ($22) was recording is fifth win from 12 starts for stakes earnings in excess of $220,000 for the Raffles Racing Stable.

Trainer Shane Baertschiger's favourite Flak Jacket (Matthew Kellady) had every chance sitting outside stablemate Mycaptainoblivious (Syafiq Hazman) but when the pressure was applied in the home straight, he remained one-paced to fade to fourth place, even conceding defeat to his two stable companions Mycaptainoblivious (second) and Solaris Spectrum (Vlad Duric, third).

The winning time was 1min 10.18secs for the 1200m on the Short Course.