A multiple-Gr1 winning trainer in her native New Zealand and Australia, Donna Logan finally earned her first top rank accolade at her new Singapore base with recent stable transfer Minister in the $1 million Gr1 Kranji Mile on Saturday.
Since moving to Kranji in 2018, Logan had not really made her presence felt in feature races even if she did bring her big-race winner Volkstok’n’barrell – eventually returned to Australia after a shortlived Kranji career without flattering – along for the Singapore adventure.
Minister (A’Isisuhairi Kasim, No 8) thunders home to deny Lim’s Lightning (Danny Beasley, No 6) in the Gr1 Kranji Mile (Pic – STC)
It was Makkem Lad, who earlier ran second to Kharisma in the Kranji Stakes A sprint who had arguably been her only ‘black type’ material to date worthy of mention, having even come close with a second place to Top Knight in the Gr2 Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic (1400m) two years ago.
But trainer Lee Freedman’s exit this year has suddenly boosted the quality quotient in her stable at the top end with two relocated horses from the Australian handler, Muraahib and Minister.
Muraahib was later transferred to champion trainer Michael Clements after four unsuccessful runs, but Minister has, on the other hand, thrived under the Logan training regimen, even if his two starts (a 10th in a 1200m race that was too short, and an improved fourth in a Class 1 mile race) didn’t necessarily show it.
The former UK Listed winner (when prepared by top trainer Andrew Balding) soon became the apple of her eyes. Roping in big-race jockey A’Isisuhairi ‘Harry’ Kasim in ironing out a few kinks in the talented but often moody US-bred five-year-old by Street Sense, Logan had a good hunch she finally had the right horse to prove her training chops, and silence a few critics in the process.
Jockey A’Isisuhairi Kasim atop Minister and trainer Donna Logan pump their fists in the air after the Kranji Mile victory (Pic – STC)
Besides her maiden status at the elite level, the word on the street was that Logan had overall not quite lived up to her glowing New Zealand resume at Kranji. Still, with a haul of 63 winners from a stable with no superstars, the 60-year-old has performed creditably, even if some may say she was treading water.
After Minister came with a well-timed run under A’Isisuhairi to land one of the Holy Grails of Singapore racing by a head, Logan could be forgiven for feeling her day of redemption has arrived.
“With Minister, I had a hunger to prove something. I wanted this win more than anything,” said Logan.
“I’ve heard people saying I couldn’t train because I was a woman and all that, but the truth of the matter is a good trainer needs to have good animals to train. If they don’t have the stock, they won’t set the world on fire.
“For a change, I had the cattle to win a Group race today, and I think I showed today I was capable of training one.
“You can only do the right thing, and this horse has improved tenfold to become the best horse in my stable for quite some time.”
While her trophy cabinet is already replete with marquee wins like the 2013 Group 1 New Zealand Derby with Habibi, the 2014 Group 1 Australian Oaks with Rising Romance, the 2015 Group 1 Rosehill Guineas with Volkstok’n’barrell, among others, Logan said the Kranji Mile will always hold a special place in her heart.
“Like I said, I was very hungry for that win, but this win also ranks high with the other big wins because it’s been a long time coming, especially as it’s an overseas Group 1,” she said.
“I’ve won the Oaks in Sydney and the New Zealand Derby. The overseas Group 1s are always harder to win and the most thrilling.”
As humble as ever, Logan, however, would not take all the credit for that new milestone. She was especially effusive of the contribution brought by A’Isisuhairi to the metamorphosis of the horse in a matter of months.
“(Apprentice jockey) Yusoff (Fadzli) has done a very good job on this horse, but when Harry took over, he has added the polish on the horse,” she said.
“He got the horse concentrating in his work. It was an uninterrupted prep, and Minister was a transformed horse and we saw that in the birdcage today.
“I discussed with Harry and I told him I didn’t want him to be in a speed duel. He should try and get cover at the back instead and hopefully, he’ll show a turn of foot.
“I’ve watched many of his past races, and he often hit the front too soon, and something always got him. This time, I wanted him to stay behind, conserve his energy and have the last crack, and everything went to a tee.
“I didn’t expect him to be as far back to be honest, but Harry was super patient and rode him an absolute treat. He was very emotional after the win and he told me he was going to cry!”
While the Malaysian jockey was shedding tears of joy, Logan said the win was also tinged with sadness for her.
Minister is raced by Thai outfit King Power Stable (who was also his owner in England) whose racing manager Krit Chittaseni suddenly passed away on May 1.
“Unfortunately, Krit passed on recently, God bless him. I’m sure he’s up there looking down on us; I dedicate that win to him,” she said.
“I’m very thankful to him. He had the faith to give me the horse to train.
“I remember our last conversation. He told me ‘you know, Donna, we’ll win the Kranji Mile this year – but he was obviously talking about his two superstars Top Knight and Big Hearted (he also managed the other Thai outfit, champion owner Falcon Racing Stable).
“He must be thinking: ‘Oh my God, it’s Minister who’s won!’. The King Power Stable spend a lot of money in our races, and I’m privileged to notch a Group 1 win for them.”
After a first Gr1 win aboard Gilt Complex in the Raffles Cup (1800m) in 2017, A’Isisuhairi was, as would be expected, on cloud nine, but he said Minister gave him an even bigger kick this time.
“This win made me even prouder, not because of the winning part, but also because I’ve done all the hard work on this horse,” said the former two-time Singapore champion apprentice jockey who since his first feature race on Trudeau as an apprentice jockey in the Group 2 EW Barker Trophy in 2013, has gone on to win at least one Group race annually to bring his feature tally up to 11 with the Kranji Mile.
“I knew this horse when he was with Lee last year, I won two races on him, and I always believed in him.
“Unfortunately, l was committed to other horses like Mr Clint and Sun Marshal in the Cup races. He showed he was not far away from winning Group 1 races with his second to Big Hearted in the Singapore Gold Cup and his second to Top Knight in the QEII Cup (Queen Elizabeth II Cup).
“I’m glad that Donna has given me the opportunity to get back on him. Thank you to Donna and the King Power Stable, and I’m so happy I got the job done.
“But it’s taken a lot of work, a lot of patience. Even last year, I’ve been working a lot with him because, typical of him, I was the only one who could get him to gallop.
“This time, I had more time to spend with him, and I can tell you he was a brand new horse in the last month. He was showing more interest in his work.
“His last gallop on turf (Tuesday) was really good. I couldn’t stop patting his neck after the work, he was just doing whatever you want him to do.
“He was in good shape and in a good mood today, he even won the best turned out horse and won his groom SG$500!
“Even when I cantered him down to the start, he never thought of stopping like he used to do. He was like ‘let’s do this, I know what I’m doing’.”
That was exactly how Minister behaved when it mattered on Saturday. From a wide alley, A’Isisuhairi decided to drop to a rearward spot, tracking up one of the leading hopes in Rocket Star (Wong Chin Chuen) throughout while Fame Star (Iskandar Rosman) dictated terms at a scorching pace upfront.
As a result, the field was fairly strung out coming down the side, but A’Isisuhairi had already slipped some reins to his mount from the 600m so as not to be left out of the loop as the field packed up around the home turn.
Glancing a few times to his outside, A’Isisuhairi then allowed his horse to peel across heels to chart the same path as Rocket Star while favourite Top Knight (Vlad Duric) was making his run the widest.
At that moment, Lion City Cup winner Lim’s Lightning (Danny Beasley), who had overcome a horror gate to get right on the hammer of Fame Star throughout the journey, was being hailed the winner when he forged to the lead and even pinched two lengths on the chasing pack.
If the mile was a trip query, Lim’s Lightning was not showing it so powerful and fluid were his strides, but Minister proved the superior middle-distance performer by descending the quickest on the outside to deny the brave Lim’s Lightning and his trainer Daniel Meagher of a second Group 1 win in the dying stages.
Only a head split them with Rocket Star another neck away in third place. Sent out at lukewarm odds of $92, Minister registered the time of 1min 34.38secs for the 1600m on the Short Course.
The cliffhanger had shades of A’Isisuhairi’s last-gasp win by Siam Blue Vanda in last year’s Gr2 Stewards’ Cup (1400m), but the gifted Kelantan-born rider said it was a well-devised riding strategy which he never doubted would come off, even when it looked hairy in the last 100m.
“I told Donna I was not worried about the barrier. I was just hoping he would get good cover,” he said.
“He always gets a bit keen when he goes forward, and I was hoping he would then switch off early and give me a good finish in the end.
“He travelled comfortably throughout, and around the bend, he started to improve. He was just bringing himself into the race without me doing much.
“When I clicked him up, he was hitting the line very well. At the 100m, I saw Lim’s Lightning was still in front, but I know from the way my horse quickens that he would get there at the finishing line.”
Formerly known as Bye Bye Hong Kong in the UK where he notched up three wins in eight starts for stakes of around US$100,000, Minister has more than doubled his local account to get past the magical bonanza of SG$1 million with that stirring last-stride win
