Mark's 80th Season Win

It as fitting that Te Akau Singapore trainer Mark Walker's 80th winner for the season came on Friday night at Kranji with a horse purchased by David Ellis from the Karaka Premier Sale and raced by a fantastic team of Kiwi owners ...

Capitalizing on a sweet trip from barrier one, Discretely Red (4 g Redwood - Scarlet Queen, by Fasliyev) delivered for the Te Akau Discretely Red Syndicate on Friday night at Kranji racecourse in Singapore.

Contesting the $35,000 Maiden 1600 metres on the polytrack, Discretely Red was angled off a trailing position around the home turn by jockey Vlad Duric and after establishing an advantage he showed tenacity late in the piece to withstand a challenge.

On the back of consistent form, he was well supported in betting to return $2.30 & $1.20 on the NZ TAB.

Discretely Red had been a solid trial performer before finishing third on debut in September last year at Matamata, and broke through at his fifth start since transferring to Mark Walker.

“We train him mostly on the treadmill, or in the (equine) pool, because he's quite a hard-pulling horse in track work and also there is not a lot of him: he weighs around 414-kilos,” Walker said. “So, he spends very little time with a saddle on and I think that has been the key to leaving his best for race day.

“He's been a bit unlucky in a couple of runs when not a lot went right, and he only won by a nose in a moderate field. If we can get him up in distance he can win more races, but if 1600m is his limit then it would make it harder.

“My aim is to build him up, get him stronger, and hopefully turn him into a 2000-metre horse. The beauty of him is that he can race on the turf or the poly and with some longevity he'll continue to pay his way up here.

“He'll probably get five or six points for the win, so he's still in Kranji D (grade) and there's an 1800-metre race coming up in three weeks on the turf and he'll probably head towards that and then have a break.”

A half-brother to the multiple stakes' winner Emerald Queen (O'Reilly), Discretely Red was purchased by Te Akau principal David Ellis for $30,000, from the Valachi Downs draft, at the 2015 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Yearling Sale (pictured below).

At the time of purchase, Ellis said: “He is a really good style of horse, bred by Kevin Hickman at Valachi Downs, by a first season sire (Redwood) that shows plenty of promise. He, in turn, is by High Chaparral (Sadler's Wells) who was a stallion revelation when standing here at stud in New Zealand.”

It was the 80th win for Walker and gives him a lead of 25 with five weeks until the end of the season in Singapore.

Following a break in December, their next season begins with the New Year Cup meeting on 1 January.

“It's been a good season,” Walker said. “We've been consistent all year and had a lot of horses that have won three or four races, despite having no real stars.

“Restricted Maidens are increasing to $85,000 here in January and with the (NZ) dollar it means $90,000 Maidens, so I think there will be more horses earmarked to come up from New Zealand.

“I haven't got a horse in the stable that hasn't paid their way this season, in covering training bills and winning prize money.  Of course, with syndication it makes it a lot easier to own them at home (NZ)."