Sun Stud Marshall To Victory In Singapore Derby
Sun Stud won the SG$1 million Gr.1 Singapore Derby with Sepoy gelding Sun Marshal trained by Lee Freedman.
This was the first major win in Singapore for Sun Stud who race in the colours of wealthy Macau owner Cheng Ting Kong of Sun Bloodstock Racing Stable.
Sun Marshal scored a neck win for Joe Azzpopardi taking his overall record to five wins from 16 starts.
Previously trained by Sydney's premier trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott when known as Han Xin, Sun Marshal had in six local starts stamped himself as a dependable middle-distance performer with two wins and three placings for Freedman.
In Australia where he raced nine times, spread across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane for two wins, Sun Marshal was labelled as an honest staying type who quickly earned a shot at 'black type' races in that genre, albeit without winning. He did finish second in the Gr.3 Grand Prix at Doomben last year, and interestingly, his last Australian run was an eighth in the Gr.1 Queensland Derby in June 2018, just under five lengths off the winner Dark Dream.