The way Pacific Bao Bei scraped home on debut might have felt a little underwhelming for a $12 favourite.
The Irish-bred did look like he would space his rivals when he came with a looping run from the 800m in a Class 4 Polytrack race (1,200m) on Jan 23.
But once he swept to the front for Wong Chin Chuen, he started to paddle, only to fall in by a head from Saturno Spring (Marc Lerner).
He is back for his second mission one month later, in Saturday's $50,000 Class 4 race over 1,600m.
The hype around a Singapore Derby import will not die down but some may question if the former Marco Botti-trained stayer is what he is all cracked out to be.
His current handler, Michael Clements, however, saw plenty of merit in the first-up win.
If anything, the win was to him a bonus. With bigger fish to fry further down the road, the main goal for the four-year-old son of the legendary Sea Of Stars was to get that first race out of the way.
Bu hikaye The Straits Times dergisinin February 24, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Straits Times dergisinin February 24, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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