He had the best form in the race and so it was his to lose, said jockey Glen Boss.
Well, that was what Trapio did in Race 2 at Kranji last night with an impressive all-the-way victory in the $85,000 Restricted Maiden event over 1,400m on turf.
Trained by Michael Clements, the even-money favourite went into the race with improving form, from a debut seventh over the Polytrack 1,200m on Aug 24 to a smart third second-up behind No Fun No Gain and Mach over 1,200m on turf on Sept 14.
With natural improvement and meeting a not-too-strong field, Trapio was obviously the horse to beat, what more from the inner-most gate. The three-year-old showed single-digit odds from the first bell and jumped at $10 for a win.
The Lee Freedman-trained $34 third favourite Monte Nerone on the far side was the quickest, but Boss steered Trapio to the front and led past the 1,000m mark by a length from Silver Joy with a cheap 400m sectional in 25.03sec.
Speed Up and Sothistheone were another length away, followed by Caribbean Lady, who raced a bit keenly.
Silver Joy got up on the outside of Trapio turning into the straight but that was as near as he could get. Trapio slipped into another gear at the 250m mark and, although racing a bit greenly, went on to win by 13/4 lengths from Sothistheone.
The winning time was 1min 23.29sec and Trapio's victory took Clements' tally to 47 winners, just one winner behind Shane Baertschiger in the trainers' premiership table.
Clements reckoned the Sharon Stable-owned Trapio would relish a longer trip but would stick to 1,400m for the moment.
"He's always been a horse who has shown he wants a bit further. Yeah, the way he settled in the running and quickened up the straight showed the seven furlongs (1,400m) is just his ideal distance at the moment," said Clements. "But he'll probably look for a touch further going forward, but we'll keep him to 1,400m for now."
Boss said that Trapio was obviously the form horse, with Mach franking the form last start, so Trapio was obviously the winner.
"The race was his to lose. He was in good form, coming from what was a strong maiden. Mach came out and won impressively, so, you know, the form was on the board for him to win the race," said the three-time Melbourne Cup-winning jockey.
"But, he's very green, he's got a lot to learn, but, like I've said, it was his race to lose."
Another horse who ran in the No Fun No Gain race, also came out to win last night - the Alwin Tan-trained Bull N Rum in the $20,000 Open Maiden (2) event over 1,400m on turf in Race 4.
Bull N Rum, who finished ninth to No Fun No Gain, produced a strong run under crack apprentice jockey WH Kok to beat Ayutthaya by 13/4 lengths and pay $21 for a win.
Friday's South Africa results
RACE 1
1st 6 Ex Nihilo ($11-$6)
2nd 2 The Greek Soldier ($23)
3rd 10 Sixtythree ($8)
4th 1 Jadeed
Forecast $51 Place Forecast (2-6) $22, (6-10) $7, (2-10) $25 Tierce $262
Trio $68 Quartet No winner ($996 jackpot carried forward to next race)
Scratching: 4 The Landlord
RACE 2
1st 4 Starflash ($16-$9)
2nd 5 Alfeo ($12)
3rd 3 Varsity Cup (No 3rd dividend)
4th 6 Zevenastic
Forecast $17
Place Forecast Refund Tierce $59
Trio $13 Quartet $266
Scratching: 1 Juan Two Three
RACE 3
1st 1 Bakkies ($22-$7)
2nd 10 Over You ($8)
3rd 2 Samurai Dragon ($12)
4th 9 Hartleysix
Forecast $24 Place Forecast (1-10) $6, (1-2) $11, (2-10) $16
Tierce $227 Trio $40
Quartet No winner ($164 carried forward)
Scratching: 3 Dancing Ruga
RACE 4
1st 3 Captain Marooned ($57-$15)
2nd 7 Burnt Rock ($8)
3rd 8 The Carpenter ($8)
4th 2 Little Mo
Forecast $47 Place Forecast (3-7) $15, (3-8) $22, (7-8) $8 Tierce $790
Trio $70 Quartet $367
Scratching: 5 Ante Omnia
RACE 5
1st 7 What A Player ($9-$6)
2nd 6 Handre The Hero ($8)
3rd 1 Okavango Delta ($14)
4th 2 Chestnut Wild
Forecast $7 Place Forecast (6-7) $4, (1-7) $8, (1-6) $15
Tierce $40 Trio $22
Quartet $167
RACE 6
1st 1 Let It Flow ($184-$29)
2nd 4 Bring Me More ($8)
3rd 8 Three Times A Lady ($9)
3rd 12 AshDown ($13)
Forecast $92 Place Forecast (1-4) $22, (1-8) $47, (1-12) $95, (4-8) $7, (4-12) $9, (8-12) $18
Tierce No winner ($3,694 carried forward)
Trio (1-4-8) $432, (1-4-12) $346
Quartet No winner ($256 carried forward)
RACE 7
1st 4 Remember This ($41-$11)
2nd 5 Searching ($9)
3rd 3 Space Tatoo ($9)
4th 8 Valentine's Girl
Forecast $22 Place Forecast (4-5) $8, (3-4) $15, (3-5) $9
Tierce $372 Trio $35
Quartet $303
Result of Race 8 was not available at press time. Log on to www.turfclub.com.sg for the results.
