'Never Say Die' Sebrose Wins

It was a very special night for the whole Te Akau team in Singapore as Sebrose overcame all sorts of odds to post a gallant win in the hands of champion Singapore jockey Manuel Nunes.

The Te Akau "tour team" was full of noise as it cheered home the son of Sebring and Group 1 winner Bramble Rose - arguably part owner Alison Rowe who was on course, the most vocal! Stablemate OM also caught the eye coming from last to fill the fourth spot.

The Singapore Turf Club reports:

Sebrose had to overcome a sardine-packed situation in the final straight to post a hard-fought win in the $80,000 Singapore Airlines Airbus 340 race (1800m).

Jumping from barrier one, the son of Sebring with Manuel Nunes on his back, lost the lead as quickly as it came when the quartet of Kate's Keeper (Zac Purton), Tequila Shot (Nooresh Juglall), Musketeer (Matsami Matsuoka) and Mighty Warrior (Corey Brown) came flying out of the gates to take the early lead.

Kate's Keeper could not sustain the charge and fell behind, relinquishing the lead to Musketeer as they approached the start of the final bend. The entire field continued to gallop at the same pace, seemingly happy to keep their positions and leave some in the tank for the final push. At this point, Sebrose was still closer to the back of the field than the front with the final straight fast approaching.

Sebrose (Manoel Nunes) gives a nasty surprise to his rivals when charging home in Race 6.

Keeping to the rails once the field straightened, the Mark Walker-trained gelding started to catch his rivals from the inside but unfortunately found World War (Brett Prebble) right in his running lane just as he was breaking into the top four. Hemmed in on the fence, Nunes had to bide his time and keep his head down.

With only half the straight left, it looked like a straight three-way battle between Ideal Guide (Joao Moreira), Mighty Warrior and OM (Apprentice Zawari Razali) for the win. Somehow, Sebrose found an opening and snuck out undetected, before exhibiting an astonishing turn of foot to steal the win from behind in a time of 1min 47.46secs, relegating Ideal Guide to second place by half a length. Mighty Warrior was a further head behind in third.

Nunes, who has won four times in the nine occasions he has ridden on Sebrose, was relieved that things eventually turned out right for him.

“It was a good win for Mark and the owners,” said the Brazilian jockey.

“The race started out fine. But when I got to the straight I was stuck behind Brett Prebble and couldn't get out. I had to ride for luck and fortunately, I found some space to get out. He is definitely a horse for the future.”

Walker was definitely pleased with the win and was effusive in his praise for the Te Akau Racing-owned four-year-old.

“The horse is progressing very quickly and stepping up in distance,” said Walker.

“It was a good ride today although he (Nunes) had to ride him for a little bit of luck and pick his way through. Once he picked his way out, he showed a terrific turn of foot. He would have been unlucky not to win.

“He's a really improving horse. We are obviously looking at the Derby for him but if he improves sufficiently we might consider him for the Gold Cup in November.”

Sebrose was purchased by David Ellis from the June Magic Millions Sale and is raced by the Te Akau Sebrose Syndicate. Tonight's win takes his stakes earnings to over $200,000.