That’s a Wrap

by Alan Carasso 

At the tone, the time will be 3:54 a.m. I’ve just gotten settled, after taking a wrong escalator to the food court or something and after hitting the button that said ‘back’ and not the one that reads ‘start surfing’ and getting all sorts of fired up before finally getting onto the internet here at Changi Airport. Breathe in. Breathe out. Gavin Rossdale? Oh my, I think I’m delirious. 

Inhale. I am writing now because I opted for three–let’s count together–three hours of sleep instead of trying to work once I got back to the hotel after Sunday’s action-packed day of racing at Kranji. I really consider this a trip of a lifetime. And at the same time, I do sincerely hope I get the chance to come back, because there’s a lot of Singapore to see, and, through no fault of its own, I didn’t really get to see much of it after Wednesday. I’m not complaining. I got to spend the next two mornings around horses and made two trips to the track to watch live horse racing, God forbid. By all accounts, Singapore is a wonderful, cosmopolitan, welcoming, eclectic city and I certainly hope for more. May? We shall see. 

In the event that were to happen–for the Singapore Airlines International Cup meeting the day after the Preakness–there would be a fair chance, at least as of right this minute, that we would have quasi-American representation in the form of Parranda. Whether she stacks up against real Group 1 horses from all over the world like a Vercingetorix or a Military Attack or a Happy Trails or a Dan Excel…that waits to be seen. She was very good yesterday and was given a very good ride by Christophe Soumillon right on the back of the speed, and then defied Ming Zhi Cosmos to go past her before edging clear. This was not just a good job of training by Christophe Clement and his assistant Thomas Brandebourger. It was a phenomenal job. It can’t be easy to prepare one to travel 10,000 miles and then race. I know how zonked I was from coming over and I’m not entirely sure I’ve caught up. Singapore is no easy place to adapt to with the heat and humidity, but Parranda–and for that matter My Option and Bajan–never turned a hair, looked well and were able to put forth their best effort. 

I hope you’ll forgive this next little bit. For me, I probably got uber-excited about this trip when I learned that among the visiting jockeys would be Tommy Berry. I’ve admired him from the perspective of how talented he is back to his Golden Slipper-winning days and then gained further admiration with the personal strife he had to deal with after the tragic loss of his brother, who was right here in Singapore. So–again sorry if this is sappy–but I wanted to shake Berry’s hand, tell him what a fan I am of his and how I greatly admire him. And I got that chance just before he climbed aboard Orbec, who was well fancied in Sunday’s race. I’m guessing he left a touch frustrated after not connecting with his mounts Sunday, but he gave this fan the high point of the journey. So thanks, Tom. 

So racing in Singapore does not create the mass hysteria that it does in this region in places like Hong Kong and Japan, in particular. But those that do come out, and I heard it was something around 18,000 Sunday, are passionate, vocal, colorful and look like the horseplayer you and I easily recognize. And while they don’t put it through the windows the way they do in those other places, the handle is strong. I didn’t grab an official number, but it was something just north of S$300,000 in the win pool for the day’s big race. Take this within the context that the locals didn’t know the first thing about any of the eight foreigners. Heck, I didn’t know too much about five of them. So, I’d suggest that turnover number is solid. Not only do the locals bet on the local product, but they can also wager on races from Korea, Australia and, on Sunday, the Selangor meeting up the western coast of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. Which is, as I digress here, the home of journalist Paul Haigh, whom it was a pleasure to meet over the last several days. Paul had the advantage of having a Mandarin translator. Well played, Paul. Hope we meet again down the line. 

I tweeted this live, so forgive the redundance of this anecdote if you’ve already seen it. I haven’t been able to cash a meaningful ticket at home in a loooong time. I wrote the other day that I managed to back Gary Crispe’s winner Friday afternoon and I can’t bear just sitting on the sidelines on a big day, so I had a couple punts Sunday. The first was a near miss each-way on another of Gary’s runner Mal’s Dad, a Savabeel gelding who was returning first time since tie-back surgery. He firmed from $150 (about 30-1) into $109 (21-1) at the off, so figured I’d have a flyer. Michael Rodd settled him back in the field and stayed glued to the inside in the lane. He got a clear run and poked his head into the placings in the final strides, but was just photo-ed for third. But a good steppingstone for a better run next time. Gary is a great and well-respected journo and I was exceptionally happy to make his acquaintance. 

Anyways, haven’t gotten to my story. I decided to have a go on a high-quality Kranji Stakes ‘A’ race, probably the equivalent of a top allowance or a minor stakes, and the horses in there were of that quality. Pat Shaw sent out the favorite Magneto, an Argentinian-bred son of Footstepsinthesand (GB), who was the hot favorite at even money. My key was a horse underneath who was first-up with a good record of firing fresh and was off at a tick over 15-1. Well, Magneto ran to his odds (and ran fast time, 1:08.74) and Cavallo picked up the pieces late. The forecast ($2 exacta) paid $36 and I had it for $10, so I was pleased with that. I know next to nothing about the local horses, but hey, sometimes the squirrel really does find the acorn. 

OK, think I’m going to wrap and let me extend my gratitude, first to Barry and Sue for giving me this opportunity. I hope I did the event justice and that I represented our company half-decently. My thanks to Eden Harrington and Michael Wallace of the China Horse Club for putting on a really good show. I am going to admit that I came into this with a fair bit of skepticism and fairly low expectations. Consider those met and then some. Well done, gentlemen. To the Singapore Turf Club for staging a nice event and special thanks to Li for showing me around on Friday and to Michael Lee, the local press guy. If you’ve never read his stuff, do go every once in a while to the Turf Club website (www.turfclub.com.sg) and have a look. He’s gifted in what he does and shoulders a heavy load. And also, the TV production and commentators are simply spectacular. They are cut from the same cloth as Hong Kong and do just a phenomenal job of giving color and handicapping the races. Craig Evans and Matt Jones alternate race calls, interestingly, and when they aren’t in the booth, they’re in the parade ring or in the winner’s enclosure or on the apron. Also Gareth, and please forgive me for not getting his last name, does an excellent job with his contributions. Pat Cummings calls Singapore his favorite city in the world and I now know why. Thanks, Pat, for your counsel and advice. The dumplings place at Wisma Atria was too crowded, but I’ll knock it out next time. There weren’t many of us here, but it was also great to do some networking with my aforementioned colleagues as well as Mark Scully of ANZ Bloodstock and Katherine Fidler from the Racing Post. If you get a chance, check out Katherine’s blog from Sunday’s races. And to Liesl King for her always outstanding photographs and general good nature. It was great to finally meet her after all these years. And a last thanks to our TDN readers, who tolerated this sometimes mindless drivel over the last five or six days. You get a break from me now, maybe, as I’ll have a few days to recuperate. But if you really find yourself missing me (the likelihood of which is somewhere between doubtful to who the hell does this guy think he is?), you know you can find my equally irrelevant thoughts and comments on the big T at @EquinealTDN. Shameless plug, I get it. 

The time at the tone will be 4:31. Beeeeeeep.