No More Delay, 3yo races next

No More Delay seems to be a horse in a hurry.

In five Kranji starts, the talented three-year-old has already notched two wins, including the latest on Sunday at his seasonal bow and first-up from a five-month break.

Ridden by comeback jockey Benny Woodworth, the son of Zoustar came off a handy spot in the Novice race over the Polytrack 1,200m to wear down the smart War Commander (Wong Chin Chuen) by a head.

The race saw two fancied horses - newcomer Griffin and Dancing Light - withdrawn.

When winning trainer Daniel Meagher gives a three-year-old a wrap, we listen.

Meagher's top graduate from last year's cohort was Lim's Kosciuszko, who came through three starts unbeaten. In another five starts as a four-year-old, the son of Kermadec has yet to see rears at the winning post.

No doubt No More Delay does not have the same aura of invincibility, but the Australian trainer still holds him in high esteem.

"Today, he was a bit closer to the speed after the two horses came out. They didn't go as quick, and Benny had him where he was happy," said Meagher, who also owns the gelding.

"He was a talented horse right from the start. It's actually Danny (Beasley) who picked him at the 2020 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale when he was still my assistant trainer.

"We both really liked him and we knew he'd be a late maturer."

If the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge was uppermost on the two Dans' minds, as they raised their bids at the Oaklands Junction sales ring in Melbourne, they were soon left wondering about the wisdom of their A$80,000 (S$80,200) buy.

A few weeks later, Covid-19 struck - and Singapore racing was not spared.

The series became one of the fixtures axed in the last two seasons, curtailed by the pandemic.

All was not lost, though.

The first two legs - the Group 3 Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint (1,200m) on June 18 and the Group 2 Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic (1,400m) on July 9 - are still staged as standalone events.

Only the Group 1 Singapore Guineas (1,600m) has been discontinued since last year.

"He's shown today what he can do. I'll now run him in the three-year-old races in June and July," said Meagher.

No More Delay also provided Woodworth with his first win since returning from a one-year-plus absence from riding overseas.

The popular Malaysian jockey was at his first pairing with No More Delay, but certainly not at his first with Meagher.

"Daniel and I go back a long way. It's harder to get rides from him now, as he has Danny Beasley as his No. 1 jockey," said Woodworth.

"But, as Danny was suspended, I got that ride, and I thank him for that first winning ride.

"I worked the horse a couple of times, and I thought he was a nice horse from his trackwork. I didn't think he was a certainty, but Dan did think he had a chance.

"It's been tough since I've come back. This was my third week, and I've not been getting a lot of rides. Let's hope I'll get busier after this win."