Group 1 wins do not come easy, but Lim’s Kosciuszko made his win in Sunday’s SG$300,000 Gr1 Lion City Cup at Kranji look like a walk in the park.
That was also Lim’s Kosciuszko’s third consecutive win in the Lion City Cup since he dominated Singapore’s premier sprint race in the past two years, which was an achievement given only to Singapore’s legendary sprinter, Rocket Man who had more Lion City Cup wins to his name with four wins from 2009 to 2012.
Lim’s Kosciuszko (Marc Lerner) makes light work of his rivals in the Group 1 Lion City Cup (Pic – STC)
The six-year-old son of Kermadec bagged his ninth Group 1 win while trainer Daniel Meagher was at his fourth Lion City Cup win since Lim’s Lightning’s victory in 2021.
For good measure, the Lim’s Stable also added their sixth Lion City Cup win. Punters would also remember the Stephen Gray-trained Lim’s Cruiser taking out the race back-to-back in 2017 and 2018 in their famous blue and yellow star silks.
Yet, the win on Sunday was arguably the easiest watch of them all. Lim’s Kosciuszko gave his opposition no look-in from the start after jockey Marc Lerner got busy early on the favourite before settling him in second on Sky Eye’s (Bernardo Pinheiro) flank.
Second favourite Golden Monkey (Chad Schofield) was tucked at the rear of the small seven-horse field while Ghalib (Manoel Nunes) was perfectly positioned on the back of Lim’s Kosciuszko. Meanwhile, promising three-year-old Ace Of Diamonds (Bruno Queiroz) also sat handy with cover.
The race changed complexion after Sky Eye put up the white flag upon turning for home as Lerner found himself in front sooner than expected at the 400m.
After the Frenchman gave Lim’s Kosciuszko some reins at the 350m, he quickly put two lengths on Ghalib and Ace Of Diamonds while some racegoers eagerly waited to see if Golden Monkey could make inroads late.
The Tim Fitzsimmons-trained gelding, who finished third and second in this race in 2022 and 2023 respectively, tried valiantly but the ground he had to make up in the final 250m was a bridge too far, hence an eased-down Lim’s Kosciuszko won by just under two lengths.
Ghalib battled on well to finish half a length back in third while Ace Of Diamonds another two lengths back in fourth. The winning time was 1 min 9.35secs for the 1200m on the Short Course.
The all-too-familiar trio celebrates Lim’s Kosciuszko’s win onstage – (from left) owner Mr Lim Siah Mong, jockey Marc Lerner and trainer Daniel Meagher (Pic – STC)
“He’s done everything he possibly could and he’s just a little superstar,” said Meagher at the interview with racing presenter Scott Bailey.
“He has his little issues and needed to be kissed and cuddled, but come race day, he just performs like no other. It’s very special to have him and I don’t know if I’ll ever get another one.”
Of his pre-race manners, the Australian handler said Lim’s Kosciuszko was remarkably calm and Meagher was not concerned when he got to the front a little earlier than planned.
“He’s got a little character about him,” explained Meagher. “He goes into that air-conditioned parade ring stalls and just puts his head down and goes to sleep.
“The day I don’t see that, and he gets a bit nervous would probably be the day he’s not going to run that well.
“That’s his routine. He’s a routine-type of horse. We don’t change his routine and he’ll keep performing, hopefully till the end of the season.
“Marc held onto him as much as he could, in the straight, and we’ve got bigger races in mind, so we didn’t need him to have a tough run. It’s good preparation for the three big Group 1’s coming up.”
Meagher was referring to the Gr1 Raffles Cup (1600m) on 11 August, the Gr1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (1800m) on 7 September and the Gr1 Grand Singapore Gold Cup (2000m) on 5 October.
These three races made up the three Legs of the discontinued Singapore Triple Crown series last year. Lerner concurred he did all he could to hold onto his mount for as long as possible, albeit the circumstances were against him.
“Lim’s Kosciuszko was a bit fresh today,” said Lerner, who knocked in a double on the day with Summer Wind in the Lim’s Kosciuszko 2022 and 2023 Stakes, a Class 5 Division 1 race over 1400m.
“But we were expecting the Pacific horse, Pacific Vampire, to go forward, so you always have a plan B, C, D and as many as you want! He was the best horse in the race, so I rode him accordingly.
“He’s getting older, but he still felt young and fresh. When he came out of the turn, he went for it and I was scared because when he hits the front, he sort of knew the job was done.
“I wanted to keep him at his job, but he just does it; it’s an easy job for him.
“Last year there were many more horses and frontrunners, so he always had super runs behind them before I took him out at the 300m, and he just had the best turn of foot.
“This year, we don’t have that many runners, so we had to ride him closer than normal at most of his runs.
“He got the job done because I believe he’s not one or two, but many classes above the rest. And at weight-for-age, it’s just a pleasure to ride horses like him.
“I have to thank Daniel for the incredible job he does with this horse. All the credit must go to Meagher, as he always gets them to their top condition at the races. It makes my job easy for sure.”
With 21 wins from 25 starts, Lim’s Kosciuszko has amassed over SG$3.3 million in earnings for the Lim’s Stable.
