Pitstop
In a dramatic finish to the running of the $325 000 Gr2 Aushorse Golden Horseshoe in Singapore last Friday, South African jockey Greg Cheyne came within a head of winning the feature on first-timer Easy Man for trainer Leslie Khoo.
But it was Australian trainer Steven Burridge who was celebrating after Pitstop had scored a narrow win in the 1200m race under seven-time Malaysian champion jockey Azhar Ismail.
Pitstop’s connections enjoyed a hefty payday and scooped the purse of $325 000 plus the Aushorse bonus of $135 000. Pitstop is fully qualified for the bonus as he is a Magic Millions purchase bought for $21,000 at last year’s Magic Millions National Yearling Sale at the Gold Coast before being sold for $100,000 at the Magic Millions National Horses in Training Sale last October. He is by exciting first season sire Zizou and from the stakes winning Al Hareb mare Pottinger. the two-year-old is a half brother to the Malaysian stakes performer Blesswithspeed.
The Magic Millions connection goes one step further as Pitstop was bought by the Asian representative of the horse sale outfit, Burridge’s son Wade.
Third place went to another newcomer prepared by Leslie Khoo in Hogwarts Express ridden by Saimee Jumaat. The winning time was 1min 11.31secs for the 1200m (Long Course) on a yielding track.
An emotional Burridge dedicated the win to a host of people including Wade and his staff, but his voice shook the most when he mentioned his senior track rider Darren Murphy, recently injured in a trackwork accident. “He’s had an interrupted preparation and it’s great to see him win, but I have a special thought for Darren who broke his leg recently,” said the Australian trainer.
