Freedman is “Mr Big” with Group double

Australian Michael Freedman has had his best meeting since settling as a trainer in Singapore when he won the two main races on the Kranji card yesterday.

Freedman, who moved to Singapore in April 2008 after working with brother Lee in Victoria, won the Group 3 Magic Millions Juvenile Championship (1200m) with Mr Big and the Group 2 Chairman’s Trophy (1800m) with Always Certain.

After seven seconds in 22 starts, Not A Single Doubt gelding Always Certain had been tagged a ‘bridesmaid’ at the top level, but a sixth win and a first at Group 2 made start No. 23 memorable for connections.

Always Certain, who is usually ridden by Freedman’s stable jockey Danny Beasley – this time Breasley was on the unplaced Intercept for top trainer Laurie Laxon – gave another Australian, John Powell, his second Group success within two weeks after winning the Group 1 Singapore Derby (2000m) on Clint on July 17.

Gun three-year-old Gingerbread Man, ridden by Victorian Vlad Duric, looked to have the Chairman’s Trophy sewn up when he hit the lead at the 200m, but Always Certain ($35, for a $5 unit) emerged from the pack to win by a half-length. The fast-finishing Risky Business (Craig Williams), who flew from last, was third.

Always Certain, bought by Lee Freedman for $60,000 at the 2008 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, has earned almost $S800,000 at Kranji.

Beasley didn’t go empty-handed, winning on Mr Big ($15, for a $5 unit), who showed he was Singapore’s best two-year-old with his authoritative performance – just over two months ago he won the only other two-year-old feature run at Kranji, the Aushorse Golden Horseshoe.

The Singapore Turf Club’s website, www.turfclub.com.sg, reported that the horse Mr Big beat by a neck in the Golden Horseshoe, Dark Matter, was backed into short-priced favouritism ($9) in the Juvenile Championship.

But Mr Big underlined that he was top dog when he beat stablemate Rush and Destiny Action.

Dark Matter was a fraction slow out of the gates and was settled at the rear by leading Melbourne jockey Craig Williams, who was testing the Stratum colt for a possible tilt at the spring carnival riches in Melbourne. He was a disappointing sixth.

“He came around runners, but in the home straight he just did not accelerate,” Williams told the website. “I think he was totally out of his comfort zone today.”

Williams didn’t ride a winner from six tries – he had three placings.

Singapore’s premier jockey, Brazilian Joao Moreira, had a big weekend, riding four winners on Friday and on Sunday. His great eight lifted him to 77 wins for the season, 22 ahead of Duric (55).

Other Australians: 5th, Ronnie Stewart 28 wins; 6th, Powell 26; 8th, Beasley, 23.

Freedman sits with another Australian, Brian Dean, just outside the top 10 trainers on 26 wins.

Top of the list is New Zealander Laurie Laxon (47) from South African Patrick Shaw (42). Australians Steven Burridge 39 and Don Baertschiger 35 are next, from Kiwi Mark Walker 34 and Aussie Cliff Brown 32.

Meanwhile, Shaw has announced that Singapore’s champion sprinter Rocket Man will not take on Black Caviar in the Group 1 Patinack Farm Classic (1200m) at Flemington this spring.

Shaw, who had intended to inspect quarantine facilities at Werribee this month, cited the time Rocket Man would have to spend in quarantine as the reason for choosing to race in Japan and Hong Kong instead.

With Black Caviar not travelling abroad until next year, Rocket Man looks to have the two Asian races at his mercy.

Black Caviar, provided she comes up this campaign, appears to have the Patinack in the bag and if she wins she will then be eligible for a $600,000 bonus if she goes on to win at Royal Ascot in England in June – the bonus, of course, was offered by the Victoria Racing Club to lure Rocket Man to challenge Australia’s unbeaten sprint star.

Connections of Black Caviar threatened to race her elsewhere because she wasn’t eligible for the bonus, and the VRC changed the terms to include post-Patinack Global sprint races as well as pre-Patinack.

Another champion mare, France’s great miler Goldikova, won the Group 1 Prix Rothschild at Deauville yesterday, her fourth success in the 1600m race and her 14th Group 1 win.

Goldikova (by Anabaa (USA)) is the only horse to win the same Group 1 race in France since the European Pattern was introduced in 1971. Yeats, of course, won the Ascot Gold Cup (3200m) four times at Royal Ascot from 2006-09. Yeats (by Sadler’s Wells (USA)) was seventh in the 2007 Melbourne Cup won by Delta Blues.  He is at stud at Coolmore in Ireland.

Jockey Olivier Peslier had a milestone day at Deauville, too – the Goldikova win was his 100th Group 1 success. He has ridden the mare in all her 24 starts, for 17 wins.