DURIC CAUSES A REVOLUTION AND SAVES HIS NIGHT

[Chief Stipe]

Revolution (Vlad Duric) outsprints his rivals to take out Race 7.

Champion jockey Vlad Duric rode Revolution like the best horse in the field and that was how he finished in the S$70,000 Class 3 Super One 2015 Stakes, a Class 3 race over 1200m in Singapore on Friday night.

Whilst he was not the most fleet-footed customer out of barrier No 1, Revolution was allowed to settle worse than midfield on the rails before switching out three lanes to improve around runners as they neared the home turn.

Wassergeist loomed on the outside with what looked like a winning burst, but the much-hyped debut winner peaked on his run. It was at that very instant that Duric pushed Revolution through a gap from under the favourite for that decisive move.

The Unencumbered colt, who was sold through Kilgravin Lodge’s 2017 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run draft, poked his head in front as he got a few tastes of the persuader from Duric. Dragon Duke was still sticking around after he collared leader Burkaan, but Revolution went a shade better before staving off a sizzling finish from Elite Conquest on his outside to prevail narrowly.

Well supported into $24, Revolution fell in by a neck from Elite Conquest with Dragon Duke plugging on for third place another half-length away. The winning time was 1min 11.03secs for the 1200m on the Polytrack.

Duric, who had earlier seen his nine-win lead on Michael Rodd whittled down to five wins after the latter brought up a four-timer, including the highlight of the night, the Aushorse Golden Horseshoe (1200m) with Inferno, could derive some consolation from that solitary win.

The night meeting had not quite panned out all that well for the two-time Singapore champion jockey.

He could only muster a fifth place on the well-backed Big Hearted in the feature race, beaten at the start by a slow getaway, and one second with Iron Ruler in Race 2. He later finished third on Ottawa in the last race won by Young Keah Yong’s Mighty Conqueror ($20) with Saifudin Ismail up.

“This horse was unlucky at his last start when he ran third to Pennywise. Michael Rodd rode Pennywise beautifully that day,” said Duric.

“We got held up in behind, but tonight we got the breaks at the right time. He was the best horse in the race and he had fair luck in the race.”

Winning trainer Alwin Tan, who has not saddled a winner for a month – since Atlantean on June 21 – was pleased he had not returned empty-handed this time around.

“He carried the topweight tonight. I told Duric he had to be patient, luckily, we won the race,” said the Singaporean handler.

“Vlad is a top jockey as is Michael Rodd on my other horse, Robin Hood, but Revolution is a slightly better horse.”

The smart three-year-old has turned into a handy moneyspinner for his Thai owners Falcon Racing No 7 Stable, having now brought his total earnings past the S$260,000 mark from his haul of five wins and five placings in 15 outings. -STC

View the full article