Gerry Harvey began his Singapore venture with $100 winner Parfumier at Kranji on Friday night.  The retail king sent Parfumier to John Meagher late last year and, despite the long price, the decision paid immediate dividends.

Parfumier (8g Belong To Me – Patou by Covetous) flew home to win an S$125,000 Open Sprint from Capablanca (Scenic) and Better Be The One (More Than Ready).  “It’s a great start for Gerry!” Meagher said.  “He’s a very enthusiastic owner and puts a lot of money in racing.  We need owners like him here and hopefully that win will be the starting point.”

Parfumier was not given a ghost of a chance against more seasoned local sprinters like Better Be The One, Waikato, Capablanca and Happy Everybody but Meagher was hopeful he would run well enough to give Harvey some encouragement in his new project.

“I thought he would run on but I didn’t think he would win,” Meagher admitted.  “Even though he is eight years old, he’s never been hurt and will be a very useful miler for us.”

Parfumier had won 7 races in Australia for Randwick trainer Pat Webster and was runner-up to Palacio De Cristal in the 2009 G2 AJC Villiers Stakes at Randwick.  He is a half-brother to 2003 Golden Slipper winner 2000 Polar Success.