Veteran Singapore galloper Danny (Elvstroem x Zino Belle) scored his fifth career win last night with victory in S$38,000 Class D race over 1800m.

The Pencarrow Stud graduate has found a purple patch of form late in his career, winning two of his last three starts for trainer Laurie Laxon.

Apprentice rider James Ravindra positioned Danny mid-field on the polytrack. Ravindra eased the son of Elvstroem to the centre of the track in the straight and the seven-year-old quickly raced to the lead and cleared out to win by 2.5 lengths.

“He has just really started to mature, he has been a slow maturer,” commented Laxon. “Up until now we couldn’t run him beyond 1400m because he pulled too hard but he has learnt to relax and will get over a bit of ground now.

“He is in Class 4 now so we will find a 1600m race or further, he goes well on both types tracks. We will keep stepping him up and if he keeps going the way he is he could be a Singapore Gold Cup horse over 2200m in November.

“I trained his mother Zino Belle to win the Group 3 Gold Trail Stakes and I also trained Finezza Belle, she was pretty good and won two Group 2 races in New Zealand and Australia. It is a very good branch of that family – Finezza Belle was the best of the family and she only had one foal which was Christiania Belle who won a Group 2 and is Zino Belle’s dam.

Yesterday’s win was the fifth in Danny’s career, taking his earnings to over S$200,000 for his owners Oscar Racing Stables.

Bred by Sir Peter Vela and Philip Vela, Danny is out of Group 3 Gold Trail Stakes winner Zino Belle (Success Express), the dam of five winners including last season’s promising three-year-old Silver Eclipse (Darci Brahma). Danny is from the famous ‘Belle’ family that has produced multiple Group winners including Group 1 performers Finezza Belle (Sir Tristram), Winning Belle (Zabeel) and Our Ella Belle (Encosta de Lago).

Zino Belle was served by Darci Brahma last season after following a colt by Reset.

Danny was purchased by Laxon for $50,000 at the 2009 Karaka Premier Sale from Pencarrow Stud.