Trainer Alwin Tan doesn’t make the headlines very often these days, but if a Patience Award was to be created this season, he could be a hot favourite with comeback kid Galvarino.

It'll be 881 days this Sunday since Galvarino 's last run on March 17, 2019 when he brought up back-to-back wins in a Class 4 race over 1200m.

At the time, Tan and elated owners Benson and Rosa Koh were looking forward to a bright future from the then three-year-old son of Stryker.

Fate, however, was to decide otherwise when it threw a curveball. Two, as a matter of fact – injury and COVID-19.

During that prolonged absence where training bills still had to be paid with not a cent in stakes to balance the ledger, the easier option would have been to retire Galvarino.

But the Kohs love their horses like their own children, said Tan. As long as there was a flicker of hope he could race again, time and money were no object.

The promising record of two wins and one second from five starts no doubt helped towards that decision, but Tan said that another owner might have still booked the float trip to Malaysia.

Their perseverance will finally be repaid when Galvarino lines up in Sunday's $50,000 Class 4 Division 2 race over 1000m.

To Tan, regardless of where he finishes against well-oiled Class 4 sprinters like Good Luck Charm, First Choice and Cousteau at the end of the speed scamper, that return is already a win.

"Benson and his wife Rosa didn't want to give up on Galvarino. They treat their horses like their own children," said the 2016 Singapore champion trainer, who also trains Helushka for the Kohs' IB Racing Stable, and of course their best horse to-date, 2018 Group 3 Colonial Chief Stakes winner Maximus (now retired).

"I personally told them to retire him when it was taking so long for the horse to come back after he had chip knee shortly after his last win, but they love this horse so much, especially as he showed good ability with two wins in only five starts.

"So, we thought let's work together and try, and today, I have to thank the owners for not giving up. Everything happens for a reason.

"I'm not sure, but I think this could be a record for the longest time a horse has taken to come back here at Kranji. We must check the records – it has to be one of the longest times.

"I also have to thank the vet department who has done a great job in getting him right with the operation and the recovery."

Connections were actually not enduring their first testing time with Galvarino.

After a brilliant second to Lim's Lightning in the Group 2 Aushorse Golden Horseshoe (1200m) as a two-year-old, his barrier manners and steering suddenly went pear-shaped at his next start, most notably when he inexplicably hung off the track coming down the backstraight, necessitating a reschooling at the barriers for four months.

The knee chip was for sure another speed bump, exacerbated further by the three-month lockdown in April 2020, giving rise to moments of self-doubt, but Tan said that the extra time turned out to be a blessing in disguise in the end.

"The break was long, and to be honest, I kept asking myself if it was worth keeping him," said Tan.

"We already had no luck with him at his first prep when he kept rearing up in the barriers and he hung out badly. He just kept failing his barrier tests.

"Then he had no luck again with the chip. Worse still, during COVID-19, we were not racing at all, but looking back, it actually gave him more time to come back.

"I again put him through many barrier practices – 10 all-up, just to make sure he's right. His barrier manners are much better now, and his fitness has slowly improved.

"I would say, fitness-wise, everything is perfect now, but he's been away for such a long time that I don't expect anything from his first race back this Sunday. I just want to see him come back safe and sound."

While Troy See was his regular partner at his first prep, Tan has turned to a jockey he hardly uses to take Galvarino back to the races, Louis-Philippe Beuzelin, who interestingly, won his first Singapore race with a horse trained by Tan – Universal Empire on August 18, 2019, but has since never recombined with Tan at any of his next 69 winners.

"It was the owner's idea to use a stronger jockey on the horse," said Tan.

"Louis and I haven't worked together since his first Kranji win as he became in high demand with bigger stables after that, but he is a very strong jockey and I think he will suit Galvarino."