Gee Whiz! Racehorse caught up in major cocaine bust dazzles on debut

One of the horses caught up in a major international drugs bust in Argentina last year made the headlines for the right reasons on Sunday following a dazzling debut success in Singapore.

Whiz Fizz, named by his owners in a nod to his inadvertent role in the sting at the Ezeiza International Airport near Buenos Aires in January last year, got off the mark at the first attempt for British trainer James Peters at Kranji.

The winner was one of six Argentinian-bred racehorses due to be transported on part of their journey to Singapore when the plane was halted after a security operation seized more than 80kg of cocaine.

Racehorses bound for Singapore caught up in huge aircraft cocaine seizure

The team was made up of two older horses who had raced and four unraced two-year-olds, including Whiz Fizz, who was the first of the youngsters to win.

Singapore-based Peters, a former assistant to late trainer John Hills, said: "He's had a few niggly issues and has been a bit stop-start but I was really happy with his performance and there's going to be a lot more improvement from him.

"The horses had no problems once they arrived last year and an older horse called Mandrake has won a race as well. He settled in a bit faster while the younger horses have taken a bit more time to get going in the completely new environment."

The incident, which was front-page news in Argentina, made headlines around the globe and the horses have caused a stir within the local racing community since arriving in Singapore.

"We got a bit of stick from everyone for what went on," Peters said. "I have a WhatsApp group with the owners and there's lots of banter on there. It was pinging every two seconds after the race on Sunday and everyone was over the moon. The story has had a happy ending."

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