Australian-bred Tommy Gun might be “a bit underdone” first-up but trainer Tim Fitzsimmons’ decision to run him on Saturday was vindicated with a soft win in the $75,000 Restricted Maiden race (1200m).
Formerly known as Canyonlands when trained by Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, the Flying Artie three-year-old showed promise with three seconds in as many runs in Victoria, including two over soft grounds at Moonee Valley (1200m) and Ballarat (1400m).
With his preference for softer grounds, the heavy rain on Saturday sure came as a blessing at his Singapore debut.
After a clean jump from barrier nine, Tommy Gun was bustled up by jockey Ruan Maia before slotting himself in fifth in a mid-tempo race led by Flying Success (Benny Woodworth).
At the 300m, leader Flying Success and favourite Lucky Goal (Manoel Nunes) were still battling away towards the post but once Tommy Gun ($33) was flashed a few whips on the left by Maia, he picked up the pace and strode home to win with relative ease.
Lucky Goal finished two lengths behind the winner while Spieth Heroine (Krisna Thangamani) stormed home late another neck away in third.
The winning time was 1 min 10.89secs for the 1200m on yielding ground on the Long Course.
After his last run in Ballarat five months ago, Tommy Gun arrived in Singapore at the end of January and ran in two barrier trials in April, winning the latest one on 23 April, but Fitzsimmons was initially hesitant about running him on Saturday as he thought the Jig Racing/Legacy Power Racing Stable-owned gelding was not yet in race-fit condition.
"He's a little underdone going into the race. He's probably running at about 70%," said the Australian handler of his 17th win this season.
"He came late and it was a bit of a rush to get him here. I actually toyed with not running him today, but there were not many Restricted Maidens (races) around and I don't think he likes the Polytrack.
"So we rolled the dice with him today and he appreciated the wet track. He liked it in Australia.
"Ruan rode him perfectly. He's (Tommy Gun) another beauty found by (Jig Racing principal and bloodstock agent) Josh McLoughlan. It's the first winner for a new stable, so it's a great result."
First-time partner Maia knew Tommy Gun was not in tip-top shape yet but said the gelding ran well on debut.
"I tried my best to position him like I did but it's quite impossible to get covered because (running for the) first time (here), he's not 100% fit," said the Brazilian hoop.
"After that, I got into a beautiful position. We saved ground and waited till the last 300m and when I asked him for it, he responded and won nicely.
"I never rode him before. I think he should be able to go over more ground. 1400m no problem."
Tommy Gun has earned over $40,000 in prizemoney for connections after his first win in Singapore.
