Well Done made it back to back victories in Group 1 racing by taking out the Emirates Singapore Derby this past Sunday, writes Gareth Pepper.
What a marvelous feat by trainer David Kok, who in the space of 3 weeks has taken his Gr1 tally from 1 to 3 with the very progressive 4 year old.
What made the victory even more remarkable was the fact that for the second time this season , jockey Michael Rodd has returned from a foot injury and has taken out a Gr1.
It is crazy to think lightning has struck again and a clearly emotional Rodd heaped praise on the young Singaporean trainer for his excellent preparation of his star galloper.
The day itself was just fantastic.
Barring last years International Cup day, this was by far my favourite day of presenting here, when i reflected on the events on Sunday night.
The sea of red and white that dressed the course was a sight to behold and having our pictures broadcast on Channel News Asia is one of my career highlights!
It has been wonderful having long time friend Justin Vermaak in town.
He was here on a fact finding mission and by the sounds of things he has some exciting news coming up in the next few weeks.
I’m proud of him and how far he has come – he tells me he has over 45 horses in training and that number is always increasing!
Justin Vermaak, David Raphael and GP – enjoying the Singapore night life (Pic – thanks to Greenstreetbloodstock)
Not only was JV in town but so was David “I dont do shots” Raphael and his lovely wife Priscilla.
I had to take them for my favourite meal in Singapore, Pepper Crab, and boy it did not disappoint!
Luckily JV revealed his allergies when it comes to shellfish and happily devoured a family portion of potato wedges and left the crab for the rest of us!
The party then went to one of the best views in Singapore – Level 33 (if you are ever here, go there and have one of their home brews, the view is one of the best around!)
It was fantastic to chat to David and relive some of his favourite moments from calling in Hong Kong and what he is getting up to today. He is a big fan of our product in SA and can’t wait to head back!
Talking about our product, I must commend one of my favorite sites Formgrids – for someone who is not based in SA I scour the site daily and find the efficient up to date results just perfect.
The best part, they even have the results for Singapore! it is one of the best tools around and all those that use it know how spoilt we are. for those who don’t, all I can say is give it a try , you won’t be sorry!
Horses to follow
There were 3 performances here recently that caught my eye and they can be viewed on the Singapore Turf Club website.
They are Silkino, Siam Sapphire and Run it Twice.
All should go well next up and are worth marking down in your black book!
