1 Aug 2008
Zabeel gelding
My Royal Captain has recaptured winning form in a S$125,000 event in Singapore.
The New Zealand-bred galloper, pictured below recorded the seventh win of his career at Kranji racecourse on on Saturday night.
Trained by Laurie Laxon, My Royal Captain won the Group 1 Patron's Bowl last year but had not been in the winners' circle for more than a year.
My Royal Captain also raced in Dubai last year finishing third in the Group 3 UAE Dubai Guineas.
The five-year-old gelding is raced by Dragon Stable, a very successful owner for the Laxon stable.
My Royal Captain was bred by Auckland couple Don and Rochelle McLaren and was sold for $120,000 at the 2004 Karaka Yearling Sales in New Zealand.
His dam, the Vice Regal mare Kiwi Magic, been a wonderful broodmare at stud for the McLaren's, producing nine individual winners including the dual Group One winner, Flitter (by Bluebird) as well as the stakes performed Sakti (by Grosvenor).
Laxon described My Royal Captain as a "very good horse at his best" and is looking to getting the gelding to the Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup over 2200m in November.
"He's a Zabeel and I think the trip of the Singapore Gold Cup will be ideal," said Laxon. "Hopefully he'll be able to get into that race with a light weight."
Just turned six, Laxon sent My Royal Captain back to New Zealand to Rodmor Stud following his three-year-old season to spend a couple of months on the spring grass.
"He'd done a bit of racing," said Laxon. "He went to Dubai as a three-year-old and ran third in the Dubai Guineas.
"It worked out pretty well that I could send him back to New Zealand. He was there for a couple of months - September to November - and was able to win first-up here following that break.
"However he's developed a knee problem. It's manageable and the staff do an excellent job with him and come raceday I think the adrenalin must kick in and he forgets all about his pain," he said.
My Royal Captain took his prizemoney past the $600,000 mark with his latest victory.