By Alan Carasso
In receipt of a significant break under the weight-for-age conditions of the race, the American-bred 3-year-old Forever Young atoned for a head-scratching effort when last seen with a pillar-to-post defeat of many of Singapore's best middle-distance runners in the Chairman's Trophy.
With connections intent on making the front, jockey Benny Woodworth kicked Forever Young straight into the lead and enjoyed a hasslefree time of it as the market leaders raced midfield or better down the back of the long course. They began to gang up on the pacesetter nearing the exit to the turn, but Woodworth had yet to pop the question, and Forever Young had a strong kick when asked at the 400m. The Ricardo LeGrange-trained Argentine-bred pair of Storm Troops and Quechua took runs at him late, but Forever Young found the line first. Former Horse of the Year War Affair (NZ) (O'Reilly {NZ}) raced inside throughout, lacked room at a crucial stage at the furlong grounds and was a luckless fourth.
“He needs to go forward, and Benny (Woodworth) really understands this horse,” second-season trainer C. T. Kuah told Singapore Turf Club's Michael Lee. “That day when he ran badly, Benny was just as lost as me, but today, he told me he had only one plan–go forward. We didn't really look at the speedmap, he just knew he had to be in front to give the horse the best chance of winning, and he was right. I have to say I thought he was almost gone in the last 200m when I saw all the better horses like War Affair and Quechua finishing hard behind him and also because we were over the Long Course, but he's such a tough horse.”
A debut winner this past January, Forever Young was a sneaky good fourth against this jurisdictions best sprinters in the Lion City Cup (1200m) in April before besting the likes top fancies Jupiter Gold (Aus) (Congrats) and Countofmontecristo (NZ) (Echoes of Heaven {Aus}) in the Singapore Guineas (1600m). He promptly flopped home a tame eighth in a BM83 June 26, but bounced back in no uncertain terms Sunday.
Forever Young is one of 12 black-type winners for his sire, a son of the late City Zip who resides at Darby Dan Farm in Kentucky. The winner's second dam is responsible for MGISW Memories of Silver (Silver Hawk), herself the dam of GISW Winter Memories (El Prado {Ire}) and GSW La Cloche (Ghostzapper). The latter's daughter Bellavais (Tapit) was victorious in a minor black-type event Saturday at Suffolk Downs.
Click for the Singapore Turf Club chart. VIDEO.
CHAIRMAN'S TROPHY, S$300,000 (£168,726/€186,835/A$277,921/US$220,203), Kranji, 8-6, 3yo/up, 1800mT, 1:48.43, gd.
1–FOREVER YOUNG, 118, g, 3, Run Away and Hide–Best of Memories, by Halo. ($4,200 Wlg '14 KEENOV; $12,000 Ylg '15 KEESEP; $44,000 RNA 2yo '16 OBSMAR). O-Chi Tat Wong; B-Wayne Hunt, Greg & Wilma Lynch (KY); T-C T Kuah; J-R Woodworth; S$178,500. Lifetime Record: 8-4-0-1, S$547,307. *1/2 to Best Minister (Deputy Minister), SW, $254,220.[bullet ad=”us-bred-ky-bred-keen-grad”]2–Storm Troops (Arg), 128, g, 6, Orpen–Stormy, by Elusive Quality. S$63,750.
3–Quechua (Arg), 128, g, 7, Pure Prize–Queen Cabaret (Brz), by Wild Event. S$32,250.
Margins: HF, HD, HD. Odds: 12.00, 3.00, 2.00.
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