Jockey Marc Lerner was hungry, starter Damien Kinnimiont was keen for a beer, so there was no delay in getting the field to jump in the last race of 2020 at the Singapore Turf Club.
The race, a S$50,000, 1400 metre Class 4 Handicap on the Kranji Turf could well have been delayed but got started under very trying conditions. Race caller Nick Child had very little clue as to what was happening in the back straight but when the camera angle changed to shed some light on the matter, one could see the Tim Fitzsimmons trained Relentless (3g Hallowed Crown - Gladwell) running nicely into the race from fourth position on the turn.
Under the urgings of Marc Lerner, Relentless running down the centre of the track cruised to the lead and opened up a four length lead. The three year old, with no opponents in site and nothing to keep his mind on the job did ease off in his gallop, allowing Whistle Grand (N.Zyrul) on the outside rail to get close at the post.
The win was Relentless' second in five starts and was his first attempt at stepping out beyond 1200 metres.
Jockey Mark Lerner gave the horse an exceptional ride made an exceptional effort to get down to 54 kg to be able to take the ride. We trust he will enjoy some post Xmas ham tonight.
Relentless will now go for a short break with a view to bringing him back for the three year old races in 2021.
We've already seen the axing of all feature races in the first three months of 2021, so all we can do at this stage is hope the administrators at the Singapore Turf Club see the light and continue with running the key Group races later in the year.
Relentless has now won two races from five starts with earnings of $S79,031, and is owned by Arexevan Racing, Daniel Cahill, Ady Latif, Ben Fitzsimmons, Tim Fitzsimmons, Yvonne Dawson, Scott McAlister, Tim Charlton, Jorge Ng, David Dawson and Robert Sim.