Quechua beats War Affair
Pat Shaw has been a force to be reckoned with since he stepped foot on to the Singapore Turf Club Racecourse back in 2000 – and Sunday was no different, suggests Gareth Pepper.
The hype around War Affair was warranted – he came into the Derby off the back of a flawless prep and looked to have the race at his mercy.
The only negative was his wide draw.
Throughout the week big race rider Alan Munro seemed to be ok with the wide draw, and thought that even racing wide would pose no problem. Come Sunday, the atmosphere was electric and Emirates did a fabulous job of making their presence felt. The famous white and red was everywhere to be seen and as the day flowed, so did the racing action.
The Derby arrived and Craig, Matt and yours truly prepared for one of several live broadcasts on Channel News Asia throughout the year. I must admit although we had been live for SIA Cup week, this time i was more nervous. I have really worked hard at honing my skills and working towards being the best I can be.
I must thank Pat Shaw for joining me as a special guest, as In my and many other minds his stable star Quechua , who had lowered the colours of War Affair before, looked to be the only horse that perhaps could do it in the Derby. Pat was his normal cool, calm and collected self and it was a great angle to add to the hype.
Atmosphere
Craig and Matt did a fantastic job of capturing the atmosphere and putting things into perspective.
As the horses headed down, War Affair looked a picture and he duly won the best groomed horse.
Race time approached rapidly and even I was feeling nervous for all involved.
The gates crashed back and the runners were dispatched. Quechua broke well and got into a handy position just behind subsequent leader Order Of The Sun.
War Affair did things the hard way and raced 3/4 wide. With 600m to go Munro asked War Affair for an effort and he responded immediately to move up to Quechua, But the horse with the heart of a lion refused to be headed and the pair fought on to the line with Fastnet Dragon making giant strides to close in on the leaders.
With 200m left it was anyone’s race for the taking and even writing this the hairs on my neck stand up remembering how tough, resilient and courageous Quechua was. He refused to give up and duly obliged by a nose from War Affair and a fast finishing Fastnet Dragon in 3rd. The later must rate a very unlucky finisher after being held up for a long time in the straight.
Avengers
It was also another momentous occasion for Pat Shaw and the Avengers Stable.
Shaw racing which includes Ricardo Le Grange, Jacci De Tert, Barend Vorster and Nooresh Juglall, were richly rewarded throughout the whole weekend and signalled the yard’s return to form with the massive cherry on the top with the Group 1 Derby victory – their 4th winner of the weekend.
Corey Brown
Regular pilot Corey Brown rode his usual great race aboard the iron horse of Singapore and was full of praise for his gutsy steed.
Being my first Derby, i was over the moon with the day itself and the finish was just incredible to watch. I was almost speechless ( hard to believe i know!) but the race and the day put things into perspective for me and I really am so privileged to be here.
It’s an awesome day to attend and comes highly reccommended, so diarise it for next year, the week after the July and come visit us – we would love to have you here.
Looking back, the team from Emirates deserve a huge round of applause for a great effort but the day most definitely belonged to Shaw racing, the Avengers Stable, Corey Brown and last but not least Quechua on a brilliant performance.
Health Wealth
I have been on a serious health kick of late.
I have changed my diet, given up alcohol for a while and am seriously into my exercise.
I see the SP picked up via Twitter on my colleague’s bemusement on Friday night at the fact that I was off for a trail run the following morning.
Well I did get out and I ran 16km’s – with many intervals in between and got to see a part of Singapore that once entered, makes you feel like you are anywhere but there.
Mcritchie Reservoir is where I ended up and it was simply breathtaking.
Water points, outdoor gyms every couple of Km’s and a well executed trail with maps. It was clean fresh and so worthwhile and I will make sure I get out there at least once a week.
You may ask yourself why the sudden change? My sire tends to throw large stocky, non-athletic types – so as an investment in my future I have decided to break the mould and become the racy, athletic type – not common to the sire.
Until next week, enjoy your racing.
