Te Akau's Mark Walker Wins Five at Kranji

Champion trainer Mark Walker prepared five winners on Saturday at Kranji Racecourse in Singapore.

In addition, he saddled a trifecta when Elliot Ness (Written Tycoon) provided his first win on the programme and added a quinella after Savvy Command (Savabeel) obliged in the last.

Second throughout in the premiership this season, beginning 1 January, Walker is now only one behind leader Michael Clements with 26 wins. Second last year with 45 wins, in a pandemic interrupted scene, Walker was Champion Trainer in 2015, 2017 (record 87 wins), and 2019, while runner-up twice, third, and fourth, since setting up stables in 2010 at Kranji.

The winner of five NZ training premierships before shifting to Singapore, Walker established a new domestic record (108) in 2009/10 after surpassing the longstanding 104 set by Dave O'Sullivan 17 years earlier. Only a week ago it was broken for the third time since then when Te Akau trainer Jamie Richards eclipsed the previous best of 143. Currently on 147 and initially forecast for approximately 170 by season end, the TAB has set up a betting opportunity on the outcome.

It was a notable meeting on many fronts for Walker. He provided champion rider Vlad Duric with his 600^thwinning ride on the course aboard Elliot Ness, before following on Big Regards (Savabeel), Sacred Croix (Savabeel) in the $100,000 Class 1 1600 metres on turf, and Savvy Command (Savabeel).

“Vlad (Duric) is clearly the best rider here by a margin and he was in great form, riding five winners on the programme and four of them for us,” Walker said.

And, stable apprentice Jerlyn Seow recorded her first career win on Axel(Darci Brahma) in the $70,000 Class 3 1700 metres on the poly-track, for Te Akau Stable owners.

“It was probably the biggest thrill to see Jerlyn get her first winner because she'd had a frustrating run of seconds,” said Walker, who recorded five wins for the third time at Kranji.

“She's been beaten either a nose or a head in four or five races, so she'd been riding well but the bob of the head wasn't going her way.

“She showed in her winning ride that she is better than most four-kilo claimers, so her maximum claim is not going to last long and sooner or later the seconds turn into winners.

“We've also had a frustrating run of seconds this season, but they're turning into wins now.

“Our other apprentice, Aiman (Kamaruddin), is down to two-kilos and will keep dropping because he just rides so well.

“Winning on Axel shows that the Singapore system is still very good, when you pay $55,000 for a horse that Dave (Ellis) bought from a Ready to Run Sale at Karaka, and he's won over $300,000” - pictured below at the time of his purchase in 2017.

In grand form, Walker had said Elliot Ness was a strong winning chance in the $75,000 Restricted Maiden 1100 metres on the poly-track, while considering second placed Reignite (Sebring) an each-way hope, and third placed King Arthur (I Am Invincible) a place chance from an awkward gate (11). Elliot Ness simply trotted up for Fortuna Syndications (Mgr: John Galvin).

He rated Axel, now the winner of five, a top three chance under the light weight (49kg), Big Regards (Darci Brahma) a top three chance if wet (he handled a good track), Sacred Croix a top four chance if the track remained firm, which it did, and made the same prediction for Savvy Command, who beat another Fortuna horse, Ronaldo' Dream (Darci Brahma).

“Big Regards needed every bit of the 2000 metres and you don't get many opportunities to race over that distance up here now,” Walker said. “It's changed quite a bit and why racing is probably suited to more of the Australian-bred horses rather than the New Zealand-bred, compared to when I first arrived up here (2010) and there was more distance racing.”

It was the fourth win from five starts in the current campaign for Sacred Croix, eighth in all, and the $260,000 yearling purchase, from the draft of Fairdale Stud, at the NZB 2016 Premier Sale, has earned $473,000. Out of impressive winning sprinter Croix du Sud (Howbaddouwantit), Walker is now likely to prepare him for the weight-for-age $1m Kranji Mile (Gr. 1, 1600m) on 22 May.

“We actually trained the mare, Croix du Sud, too” Walker said. “She was quite handy and stakes placed.

“Sacred Croix has taken extra time to mature. He had a good four-year-old season, lost his way a bit at five, but if they show it early enough they always come back to it again. He's become so much stronger now and that's the key to it.”

In assessment of the stable, Walker said: “We've got a lot of average horses, but we're getting wins out of them at this stage. We move them on once they've met their mark and we're always looking to find new stock, which is the key to the racing game.”