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Singapore jockey Saimee Jumaat returned from his three-day suspension with a vengeance on Saturday by bagging a four-timer, a feat that the seven-time champion was certainly not unaccustomed to during his glorious career in the saddle.
"It's great to be back with four wins after my suspension. I'm getting on the right horses and that's a big bonus when you want to get back in the thick of things," said Saimee who is getting close to the tonne.
"White Lightning was definitely the hardest win as the horse on the inside was not giving up. But when you've got luck on your side, you just can't stop winning!"
First to get the ball rolling was the Laurie Laxon-trained Ace Amigo who raced with a lot more enterprise, thanks to a change of gears.
Invariably the addition or removal of blinkers can turn a horse around and Ace Amigo was no exception when the three-year-old put on a rare display of concentration and speed.
Set alight by Saimee in the $65,000 Restricted Maiden (2 & 3Yos) (1200m) Ace Amigo made no bones about barrier 10 and flew across to lead inside of the first 300m.
Ace Amigo on the inside of Raphael
Gassan Racing (M Zaki), Palmston (Sam) and Sky Index (Robbie Fradd) were all in contention as was the tiny Raphael (Mark Gallagher) for Michael Clements.
Into the straight and while there was a wall of horses behind Ace Amigo he never looked in any danger especially when Raphael was caught for room with Gallagher doing everything he could to extricate the gelding.
As Ace Amigo headed for the post he looked like he was going to be an easy winner but Raphael had found daylight back on the inside and he sprouted wings over the concluding stages to go down by just a neck, with Fast As Lightning in third place a further length and three quarters away.
Theo Kieser assistant trainer to Laxon, who is still out of town, was thrilled at the win of Ace Amigo.
“We always knew he had something but his first few runs were very disappointing.
“I trialled him last Tuesday in blinkers and I was really happy with him, so to see him reproduce that form today is very good.”
Michael Clements was philosophical about the second placing of Raphael.
‘He’s just such a little thing he doesn’t get a lot of chances with the bigger horses out there.
“He got squeezed up at the start and then had no room at all in the straight, but when he did finally get out he’s sprinted really well.
“1200m is too sharp for him though and over 1400m or a mile he’ll be able to find his feet and hopefully have a little more luck.”
Waikato on the inside of Screaming Eagle
Saimee and Laxon recombined to take out the next race in almost identical fashion. Even-money favourite Waikato bounced to the lead from his barrier 2 and never left the coveted position all the way to the conclusion of the $75,000 Kranji Stakes C-2 (1200m) race, albeit by just a head.
Backers of the New Zealand-bred gelding by Pins had a momentary scare when he hit the railings with 50m to go, but somehow he managed to stay on his feet to make it home in the nick of time. Screaming Eagle (Noel Callow) came charging on his outside but the winning post arrived too early by a head.
"We knew today's field would be tougher for him to beat, but he's still done a good job of it. I was very concerned when he hit the rails because he's never done it before," said Kieser.
"The good draw obviously made a huge difference as well."
Saimee was the architect of another well-judged ride with The Big Gee, trained by in-form trainer Steven Burridge.
Big Gee
While the new Big Valley-raced galloper made all the running at his debut when a fighting third to Lim's Zerperb, he was held up in the rear division by Saimee, three wide but with cover.
The concluding stages were shaping up as a blanket finish with three to four runners fighting neck-to-neck, but The Big Gee produced the best acceleration to get the better of Blade Liger (Barend Vorster) by a neck on the line.
"He was a little bit victim of circumstances at his first start, as he shouldn't have been in the lead," said Burridge. "Today with his wide draw (12) we had no other choice but to get back but he absolutely had to get in or he would have lost his chances."
"The owners paid $230,000 for him but we weren't sure how the Adelaide form would stack up here.
"It's too early to tell how far up he can go but I think he is defintely a horse with some potential here."
The quartet was completed with another Burridge runner, White Lightning, who only got up in the shadows of the post to send the amiable rider to cloud nine, but also break the heart of Japanese trainer Susumu Nigishi who has been hard-up for a second Kranji win since Silence Touch on March 2.
Kittihawk with jockey Garnet de Souza was holding on for dear life and looked like he was about to break Nigishi's deadlock, but for Saimee's will to win.
"It was the ride that got him home," said Burridge, who incidentally had saddled a double.
"I took the blinkers off him two starts back because he was so quiet at home and he ran well finishing fifth behind Waikato.
"Then the next start he didn’t run at all well and I was disappointed when he ran ninth to Lim’s Connection so we put them back on.
"It made the difference for sure but it was a gem of a ride it really was."
Win No: 4 and it's White Lightning
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