22 Apr 2017
Exciting three-year-old Tannhauser again made mince-meat of his rivals on Friday night, and even if he did not break any record this time, he was still mighty impressive.
Backed down to start at close to even money, the son of Tavistock was considered hard to beat by most, if all he had to do was bring back that devastating form that saw him annihilate the opposition and break the 1100m record at his last outing two weeks ago.
He did and it was again another awe-inspiring performance when he left his nine Novice rivals reeling in his wake in the Polytrack event over 1200m.
While Tannhauser led them on a merry chase last time out, he had things a little less cushy this time around when Bear Witness, one of a handful of horses pundits thought could have a remote chance of toppling him, kicked up on the rails to keep him on the outside.
Jockey Vlad Duric was unfazed, though. With the first 400m run at 24 seconds and change, he knew he was not out of his comfort zone and therefore just let Tannhauser stride along, holding a neck advantage over Bear Witness throughout, before cutting the ribbons once they swung for home.
The last 300m panned out as a carbon copy of his last win. Bursting clear with a blistering turn of foot, he looked all set to race away as he pleased, but again started to wobble in and out once he found himself on his lonesome, with Duric having to take corrective action to keep his mind on the job.
But that raw power was lethal enough to see him romp home by just under seven lengths from longshot Farees in 1:11.13 for the 1200m.
The Singapore Guineas (1600m) on May 14, the third Leg of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge, has been dangled around as a juicy carrot since his maiden win, but winning trainer Michael Clements, who already took out the first two Legs with the unbeaten Countofmontecristo, preferred to sit on the fence, and let the dust settle a little.
To the Zimbabwean-born, there were still some screws to tighten up, especially as it will be a direct climb from six furlongs to the mile.
"He was again very wayward turning for home, but once Vlad got stuck into him, he got down to business," Clements said.
"The time was not so good tonight but he still won well. I wished there was another horse who could go with him up the straight just so he can learn as he progresses to another level.
"We'll see how he pulls up. The Guineas is three weeks away, but it's not the ideal prep for such a race He's a speedy sort and it's not ideal for him to just go to the mile. At this stage, I would say it's 50/50."
Duric said he went into the race feeling as confident as ever, and never had any anxious moments even when he was caught one off punching the breeze.
"It didn't matter if he was three or four deep. I was prepared for that," the Australian jockey said.
"I let him use his action where he was, but he was just as lost as the other day when he quickened up at the top of the straight.
"He's very deceiving as when you ask him to go, he doesn't seem to do it quick enough, and gets his legs all tangled up and his head in the air and starts looking around.
"But he was very impressive again. He's a very talented horse and has got a bit of a future here, he should get 1400m and a mile."
That second win has now pushed his earnings past the $S80,000 mark for the Jubilant Racing No 4 Stable. - Singapore Turf Club