Hidden No Longer

Te Akau trainer Mark Walker produced three winners on Sunday night at Kranji racecourse in Singapore, extending his total to 41 and a handy leading buffer of seven at the halfway stage of the season.

Hidden Promise (4 g Postponed - Promissory, by Zabeel), purchased by David Ellis for $65,000 at the 2014 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale, from the draft of Westbury Stud, commenced proceedings with a commanding win in the $38,000 Kranji Stakes D 1600 metres.

Quickening to a winning advantage at the 300m after travelling comfortably outside the leader, Hidden Promise never flinched under Shafiq in the run to the line. On the turf, rated Good, he scored by one length in 1:35.4 for the mile and paid $4.40 & $1.20 on the NZ TAB.

“Like Storm Trooper that won on Friday night, he too is a typical New Zealand bred that has taken time,” Walker said.

“The best thing about it is that I have been allowed by the owners to give these horses the time they need to strengthen and fully mature, and we knew this horse had the ability to win races providing we were patient with him.

“He's out of Zabeel mare, so he should just continue to get better and now that he's won twice over a mile he could get up in trip in the future.

“Dave (Ellis) and Jamie (Richards) liked this horse at the Ready to Run Sale and they did a good job of preparing him at home before he can over here.”

Hidden Promise finished second as a two-year-old when undergoing educational trials from the Te Akau stables at Matamata, before transferring to Walker as a three-year-old and now won two of his nine starts, $51,174 in prize money, for his owners in the Fortuna Hidden Promise Syndicate (Mgr: John Galvin).

Interestingly his second at the trials was behind No More Tears (Darci Brahma), a stakes' winner on debut who subsequently won a Group Three race and finished runner-up in a Group Two.

“He (Hidden Promise) is fashioning a very good record and seldom been out of the prize money,” Galvin said.