'Good old' Preditor still good as gold

Trainer Shane Baertschiger had the last laugh when his old stager Preditor defied both ageing legs and wet blankets alike to spring a surprise win on Sunday.

Flashback to Aug 12, 2018, when the son of Savabeel, ridden by Hong Kong boom apprentice jockey Matthew Poon, upstaged the great Debt Collector by a head in the Group 3 Jumbo Jet Trophy.

Baertschiger was over the moon.

But little did he know that he would have to wait another four years for Preditor's next winning photo.

A battling life at the top was the heavy price to pay for his one day of glory.

Preditor rubbed shoulders with the golden generation of that era in marquee Group events.

Besides Debt Collector, whom he incidentally never beat again, horses like Elite Invincible, Mr Clint, Southern Legend (Hong Kong) or even stablemates I'm Incredible and Aramaayo were too hot to handle.

He was good, but perceivably not good enough, just treading water.

He slipped down the handicaps. His rating nosedived from an all-time high of 108 into the 60s' Class 4 zone.

Baertschiger, who part-owned the gelding, came under pressure from other shareholders to retire the old boy.

The Australian insisted there was still a win in him, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

The partners bailed out one after another. Baertschiger was the last man standing.

With Preditor's 10th birthday fast looming, he knew the longer it takes to prove his faith was not misplaced, the harder it gets.

Preditor's ($48) gutsy victory in Sunday's $50,000 Chase Me 2012 Stakes Class 4 Division 1 race over 1,400m may not be a patch on Baertschiger's first Group 1 success with Aramco in the Lion City Cup or Aramaayo sweeping the Kranji Mile-Raffles Cup double.

But the adrenalin rush was just as strong.

"It's a big buzz. The partners thought he had dropped the bundle and told me it was disgraceful to keep him racing," said Baertschiger.

"Good luck to them, but good luck to me. I got the shares for free.

"He's a sound horse, a good old horse who once beat Debt Collector, and I'm proud to have kept him going. He's been running in Class 2 and Class 3 for so long.

"I had picked this Class 4 race for him, and as soon as I heard Vlad Duric was coming back, I booked him. Preditor goes good for Vlad."

The former four-time Singapore champion jockey (2017 to 2020) had only three previous pairings with Preditor.

But the ride probably etched in Baertschiger's mind was that storming run from nowhere, only to lose by a nostril to Super Dynasty in a Class 2 race in October 2020.

Back for a licence till the end of the year, Duric turned up with the same patience.

But with less traffic to pick his way through, they did not find one better this time.

"I remember I ran second on him in a Class 2 race and he was the topweight," said the Australian ace, who, with that win, claimed the riding honours with a four-timer after his earlier wins aboard Golden Dash, Russian Twist and Tangible.

"Today, he travelled great in the running. I would have been disappointed if I didn't win on him today.

"These colours do remind me of I'm Incredible and the win in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

"But I also won the Lion City Cup on Aramco for Shane. It's great to win another race for Shane. We've been great mates for a long time."

Preditor has taken his record to six wins and eight placings from 58 starts for prize money that has hit the $630,000 mark.