Veteran Big Hearted has not lost the spark
The Hallowed Crown son enjoyed a phenomenal rise when trained by Michael Clements at Kranji. He won on debut in Restricted Maiden company in 2019, and kept raising the bar, until he claimed the Singapore Gold Cup at his 12th start on Nov 21, 2020.
Big Hearted picked up one win in 2021 but struggled with fitness - and was lightly raced - in the next two years, until his comeback win in a Class 2 race (1,600m) on Jan 20, 2024, which was also his eighth and last win when under the care of James Peters.
He was sidelined for eight months, and had two more starts at Kranji, including his last Kranji race in the Singapore Gold Cup on Oct 5, 2024, when he ran unplaced to Smart Star.
Big Hearted was transferred to Frank Maynard, but struggled to find his form in four runs for the 2006 Malaysian champion trainer.
The Australian-bred was sold to the Team Cheval Stable and placed in the care of two-time Singapore champion trainer Jason Ong. The rising nine-year-old began to show glimpses of his former self with two seconds in three starts.
Now, 18 months after his last triumph, Big Hearted showed that he still has what it takes to win.
After being caught wide from his outside barrier 9, Big Hearted was dropped back to second last by Jerlyn Seow, who has also ridden him in his last three runs.
Up front, Imperial Sabre (Khaw Choon Kit) led by a huge margin, while 2024 Singapore Gold Cup winner Smart Star (Clyde Leck) trailed behind in second.
Turning for home, Big Hearted ($21) was switched to the outside by Seow and began looming large. Under a well judged ride from the two-time Singapore champion apprentice, Big Hearted raced past Imperial Sabre with 100m to go.
The Lim Shung You-trained galloper held on for second, 1¼ lengths away, beating Haleeda (Mohd Zaki) into third. The winning time was 1min 50.8sec for the 1,800m on the long course.
"He (Big Hearted) lived up to his name," said Ong's apprentice.
"The horse has a big heart, ran well in the last few starts and improved this week to win well."
Seow went on to land a race-to-race double with the David Kok-trained Pacific Rainbow ($36), who broke through for his first win in the penultimate RM38,000 Class 5 race (1,700m) at his 22nd start.
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