Fabulous Friday - 3 Wins in 12 Hours
22 October, 2016
It has been a 'wicked weekend start" for the Te Akau team - Princess Davone cruised home with our apprentice Jasmine Fawcett aboard on Friday afternoon and on Friday evening Te Akau Singapore trainer Mark Walker celebrated yet another winning double at Kranji! Both horses - Fine Choice and Distinctive Darci - were purchased by David Ellis from the South Island NZB Sale and Karaka respectively!
Fine Choice, a Coats Choice 4YO has now earned his proud owners over $100,000 in just 11 Singapore starts - which include two wins and seven placings. He has had a few issues along the way so it is great to see him back in fighting form! Distinctive Darci, a son of the David Ellis purchased and Te Akau trained (now sire) Darci Brahma, is shaping up to be something special - winning his fourth race on the trot - as the Singapore Turf Club reports:
Champion trainer Mark Walker is not one who is easily impressed by his own horses, but Distinctive Darci sure had the Kiwi handler in a more hyperbolic mood on Friday.
The Darci Brahma three-year-old has now reeled off four wins in a row, the latest one coming when tackling stiffer opposition in the $80,000 Class 3 race over 1200m.
The Dato Terry Lee-owned gelding has ticked off Initiation, Novice and Class 4 boxes in succession before coming through at the much superior level from Friday's race, albeit with only 52kgs on his back.
Distinctive Darci off to an impressive fourth win in a row in a Class 3 race on Friday night
It was still a highly commendable effort, especially as the penny has not fully dropped for Distinctive Darci judging from the way the second favourite ($18) could not quite chart a straight path to the winning post when put under pressure. But Singapore champion jockey Manoel Nunes, who was aboard at two of his previous three wins, has sussed out his every quirk down pat and was able to safely berth him into the winner's stall, scoring by a comfortable margin of 1 ½ lengths from Fortune Winner (Mark Ewe).
For a while, the Leticia Dragon-trained mare looked like she could carbon-copy her last-start win when she came with a sustained run on the outside, but unfortunately for the backers who took her as the $17 favourite, she could not quite cut Distinctive Darci back. Hermano Menor (Syafiq Hazman) had every chance when he grabbed the lead at the 300m, but he again wilted when the chips are down to dead-heat with Fortune Winner. The winning time for the 1200m on Polytrack was 1min 11.8secs.
“This horse keeps improving all the time. I was quite confident coming into tonight's race, but you still have to respect the opposition,†said Walker.
“It's hard for a three-year-old to win four in a row. It gives me even more satisfaction as I also trained his father Darci Brahma. For that reason, he should be even better over more ground. I have to thank Dato Lee and his daughter Teresa who are great racing people and totally understand what we are doing.â€
Nunes was similarly full of praise for the winner, even if he thought he was tested a little more down to the core this time.
“He's a lovely horse, but he's still a baby. There is still some improvement to come out of him,†said the current leading jockey.
“The last time I rode him, he sat outside the leader, but tonight, he was boxed in and had cover. He was a little intimidated; he didn't really know what to do. But once I put pressure on him at the top of the straight, he came into the clear and quickened quite well, even if he was drifting out.
“As you can see, he still does a few things wrong. Once they are sorted out, he will become a better horse next season. I think he will be able to go over 1400m and 1600m next year.â€
Distinctive Darci has now racked up prizemoney in excess of $180,000 earned from his tally of four wins and one second for the Fairdeal Stable.