Friday, 20 October 2017: Singapore racing best bets, race by race analysis looking at the full Singapore card on Friday the 20th of October, with selections and information on the main contender

Golden Tomahawk

RACE 1
There are a few runners in this Class 5 contest who have been threatening to break through in their last few starts. FIRST PASSTHEPOST (1) has patchy form but has landed barrier 1 with the 1kg claim of Wong Chin Chuen and can certainly be competitive in this line-up. Still a maiden but his only decent run came on this surface two starts back when third. MONGOLIAN CHIEF (4), also trained by Leslie Khoo, has in recent starts been tried over anything from 1000m to 1800m. In this grade last time over 1800m he ran on but had a few excuses to be beaten 3.9L with 58.5kgs. He gets a 1kg claim so will be down to 55.5kgs. BIG GUARDIAN (5) for trainer John O’Hara and rider Nooresh Juglall has some ordinary numbers next to his name but gets into a suitable race over a trip however he is still yet to win over a mile from, he gets his chance. SHE’ S THE ONE (7) has been seen to be running only strongly at the end of her races. Trained by Mark Walker who has engaged top hoop Vlad Duric for the ride, the 4YO mare has been racing in arguably better Class 5 races than she meets here in her past runs.

RACE 2
A small but talented line-up with some interesting pedigrees on show which potentially hold the clues. Debutant NOWYOUSEE (4) has looked really impressive in his two trials thus far. This speedy gelding is by the sire O’Reilly out of a dam called Fabulist who was a handy type winning five times between 1100m and 1300m in Australia. The choice of this 1000m race could be the perfect event for him on debut because he has natural pace which could expose his inexperienced rivals. The half-brother to Mexican Rose, RAHEEB (5) ran in the Group 2 Aushorse Golden Horseshoe in July but struggled to deal with the awkward barrier. He has had a break and his two recent trials have been suggestive. His rider Vlad Duric probably also had the pick of rival Arc Triumph, who he trialled but has opted to ride this Al-Arabiya runner in the absence of regular jockey Oscar Chavez. GOLDEN FATKID (2) trialled nicely albeit beaten by a Class 5 horse in the trial. He is a full brother to Mr Fatkid who will run in Sunday’s Group 3 El Dorado Classic over 2200m. On breeding he will get better as he gets over further but the blinkers on for his first up run is a positive move. LONHRO GOLD (3) has been trialling well and it is worth looking at the market closely. The dam, Iltizaam placed on debut at a 1000m and the Cliff Brown Stable is currently in hot form.

RACE 3
There are only 10 runners to greet the starter in the Class 4 1800m contest. BILLY BRITAIN (1) from the in-form Stephen Gray stable must be worth a look in this because it is not a real strong line-up. Yes, his form lines don’t read overly well but he steps to 1800m and Alan Munro jumps on board and we all know how good he is in a two-turn Polytrack race. NORTHERN KNIGHT (3) has had plenty of racing recently and backs up from last Friday’s meeting where he was beaten 1.2L into 7th placing in a race which provided punters a real blanket finish. Will drop 2kgs with the claim of Zawari Razali so that should suit. BLACK SWAN (5) as you will all remember took an age to win in Class 5, but shortly backed that up with a win in Class 4 over 1800m on the turf which is where he is probably better suited. Michael Rodd jumps into the saddle for Steven Burridge who has his team tuned up nicely and has landed a much better barrier draw of 3, which he jumped from two back on the Polytrack to run 3rd 1.7L from Gold Faith. Last start he was just outclassed. BIG BANKER (7) gets down to a mark of 50 rating points and 53kgs which makes him more than competitive in a race like this. He should get a much better run from barrier 2 than he received last start where he may have had a few excuses.

RACE 4
December 2013 looks to be the last time we witnessed a running of an Open Benchmark 52 race and here we go again. SUPER GENIUS (2) is the only last-start winner in the field for trainer Mark Walker and that came in a Class 5 1100m race with Zawari Razali on board. Vlad Duric is on this time again at 57kgs with the lightly-tried mare only having start 10. Her starts prior to winning she hadn’t been overly far away so let’s hope she can go on with it, sometimes pays to follow mares that are in-form. HAYTHAM (4) the stablemate of Super Genius continues to run solid races for either 4th or 5th in his last 4 starts. Concerns, however, with barrier 11 and an inexperienced 4kg apprentice on board (Hanafi Noorman), but with that gains the weight relief down to 52.5kgs. PREFERRED (5) hasn’t exactly been sighted in his last two runs on the turf on Class 4, Kranji D races over 1400m but should be suited by getting back onto his preferred (excuse the pun) surface of Polytrack. He had a woeful barrier last time of 14 and it’s been a long time between wins, June 2016 was his last. Of the rest it was hard to find one more, but keep an eye on MASTERMIND (9) for trainer Desmond Koh who has had a few winners in these lower grade races recently. Benny Woodworth is back on board and he was the last man to win on this horse in Class 5 1000m which was back in June. 1000m is this horse’s go.

RACE 5
This is the second division of Class 5 1600m and apart from the top two in the race, everything else is rated 24 and below which makes it the weakest race of the weekend. POWERFUL AS WIND (1) is a horse who likes to go forward from the start and was right in the fight last start up until the final stages. Vlad Duric jumps into the saddle for Leslie Khoo and last week we saw Glen Boss ride a winner home for the stable so you have to take notice of the booking. MILITARY ALLIANCE (2) must be due a winning turn in this race! In four of his last five starts he has either been second (last start) or third and has the services of Craig Grylls for Kuah Cheng Tee. He jumps from barrier 1 and that should land him right on the pace without having to do too much work during the run. Who could ever forget BONJOUR BOB (3)’s heroic win earlier in the year (May) when he fought back off the canvas for victory? He was beaten for all money! Since then, he has shown glimpses of that courageous victory of 25 rating points and he has now dipped below that to 24 in a mediocre field. Nooresh Juglall is on board for Kuah Cheng Tee. Stranded on 22 rating points is PURE WHITE (7) for trainer Hideyuki Takaoka but he is without his regular pal Mohd Zaki due to suspension so Koh Teck Huat is on. A horse that likes to go forward, so Koh just may suit his racing style. He did little last start but was second over this trip two starts back.

RACE 6
This Kranji Stakes A 1000m for $125,000 is the best race on the Friday night card and it has drawn a nice field. OLYMPIC ANTHEM (1) for James Peters has been running solid honest races recently apart from that one blip three starts back. What is positive for him is that he drops down from carrying 59kgs which he has done in four of his last five assignments and gets to 57kgs. 59 can really stop some horses but with the 2kgs less it could really open this race up for this quality horse. Can NOVA SWISS (3) get back to his brilliant best? There clearly has been something niggling at this horse recently as he has been well out of sorts. Trainer thinks it is a stone bruise which he has apparently fixed. The chestnut posted a blistering time of 58.70s for his trial victory last week by 3L and looked very good for Manoel Nunes who was in the saddle. Blinkers were on for that trial as they will be for race night and the winkers have been shelved. SEBAS (4) will make sure that there is plenty of speed in the race for Theo Kieser and Vlad Duric who takes the mount. A winner two back in a Benchmark 97 1000m race, he weakened out of his last effort over 1100m but he must be respected back at 1000m as that is where he has done the majority of his winning. DISTINCTIVE DARCI (5) will have the services of Shafiq Rizuan for trainer Mark Walker. He was beaten a small margin when he was last produced by The General but it was still a quality effort. He has had a great year winning two of his eight raceday starts and placing in the other three, that is despite having a couple of setbacks in the middle portion of the year. He is a horse who gets back but winds up strongly in the straight.

RACE 7
A really decent line-up for this Class 3 sprint and with so much pace in the race it could well set up nicely for a horse like GOLDEN TOMAHAWK (2). He won’t be seen early in the peace but the manner in which he finished off last time (23.39) was very suggestive that a win could well be imminent for this Michael Clements-trained galloper. He has run well on more than one occasion in the grade and is worth taking a chance with in this. The Cliff Brown string are in great form currently and he is represented by the bang-in-form KRATOS (5) here. A winner of his last two races, this most progressive grey gelding is on an upward curve and the form of both his wins are working out very well indeed, he should go very close. Stablemate of the selection is SUPER LINE (10) who stayed on really well last time out behind Guilty Pleasures in a closing sectional of 23.18, he has conditions to suit and a handy 2kgs less to shoulder this time around, the wide barrier should not inconvenience him either. The mare JELLY BEAN (1) was extremely game in victory last month when defeating Golden Tomahawk (now better off at the weights). She is proven in this company and gets on very well with her young jockey. She can run another very honest race in this and make it into the money.

RACE 8
Really nice line-up for the finale to bring down the curtain on Friday night’s card at the track. CRAZY DREAMS (1) has been in great form for trainer Tan Hor Khoon, winning his last two and running second or third in the three runs prior which means he’s never been out of the top three in his five raceday appearances. In Singapore it is never easy to win three in a row, it takes a very good horse to do that. Last start he won from gate 12 after leading all of the way which made it a very good win. He has drawn 4 and Benny Woodworth stays on board. OLYMPIAN EAGER (3) clearly has been a difficult horse to train for David Kok as we have not seen him line up since he won his Initiation back at the end of November last year over Kratos, who has since come out and won in Class 3 this year at the first time of asking. Vlad Duric jumps on the big guy who weighed in at 623kgs in his only raceday start. So he is not a small horse, he has had three runs at the trials since August and will race with the tongue tie on for the first time. SUPER DENMAN (9) for Ricardo Le Grange was a last start winner in a Restricted Maiden race over 1200m and since then has had a spin around in a trial to win by 5L in 59.93. If that is anything to go by he should be set to run a big race in Class 4 for the first time. BRINGER OF WAR (13) is the first emergency in the race, so needs one scratching to get into the field. She is resuming now as a 3YO and she showed her quality last preparation when running third in the Group 2 Aushorse Golden Horseshoe behind Be Bee. She actually beat race rival Crazy Dreams back in June by 2.8L and has since trialled with the blinker-pacifiers, and they will be applied in addition to the tongue tie with Azhar Ismail engaged should she get into the race.