With the 2023/24 Hong Kong Racing season having concluded on a successful note last weekend, the Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge fans will be focusing on Singapore’s Kranji racemeeting on Sunday, and our two remaining local fixtures at Turffontein (Saturday) and Hollywoodbets Scottsville (Sunday).
The first on the Kranji Sunday ten-race programme is due off at 06h30
Promising four-year-old Lightning Strike will get a second chance to better himself at Group level in the SG$400,000 Gr1 Singapore Derby before any set plans of a loftier target for him at the end of the season.
Lightning Strike will have visiting jockey Hugh Bowman in the irons on Sunday (Pic – STC)
Trainer Tim Fitzsimmons did mention a possible tilt at glory in the Gr1 Grand Singapore Gold Cup on 5 October after the son of Impending won in a Class 4 race in October, which was also his second win from four wins in-a-row late last year.
He maintained his good form with two seconds and two fourths from four starts this season, including his last-start fourth to Lim’s Saltoro in the Gr2 Stewards’ Cup on 30 June with visiting jockey Chad Schofield.
While the South African-born hoop was in the saddle twice, Lightning Strike will, this time, re-unite with top Australian jockey, Hugh Bowman.
The Hong Kong-based Bowman, who finished third on the 2023/2024 Hong Kong Jockeys’ Premiership on 69 wins after their season finale meeting last Sunday, flew to Kranji for two one-day visits last year mainly for his Group assignments on the Fitzsimmons-trained Golden Monkey.
The pair brought up Fitzsimmons’ first and only Group 1 win in the Singapore Derby after Golden Monkey saluted, so the Australian conditioner would love to repeat the feat, albeit with Lightning Strike this Sunday.
“It’s been a long-range plan. We actually booked Bowman six months ago for the ride,” revealed the 2023 Singapore champion trainer.
“The last time he rode him (in a Class 5 Division 1 race over 1400m on 27 August), Lightning Strike was in good form (ran third) and it’s a big confidence boost to be able to get Hughie (Hugh) on him again.
“The 1600m Stewards’ Cup was probably a bit short. I think his best distance could be 2000m and beyond in the future, but I was very happy with his lead-up run and the ride from Chad.
“Lightning Strike pulled up really well and it’s been three weeks in between races, so it’s perfect. He galloped last week and this week.
“We will ride him quiet, but a genuine pace would help. I think he also likes the rain so it wouldn’t hurt to have some on Sunday, though the forecast said it could be dry.
“It’s a wide, open race. Lim’s Saltoro’s the one to beat, trainer Ricardo Le Grange’s two horses, Bestseller and Hole In One, ran great in the Stewards’ Cup and there’s also Makin, but it will be nice to win it.
“We will get through the Singapore Derby first and worry about the Singapore Gold Cup later. He will probably pick up a few more points with a few more races down the road.”
Nothing has been cast in stone yet with less than three months left to the Singapore Gold Cup on 5 October, but there might be more sparkle in Fitzsimmons’ eyes if he could send “a fleet” of runners in the final Group race in Singapore’s racing history.
Besides Lightning Strike, four higher-rated gallopers among his nine other runners this weekend were in talks of running in the time-honoured race at some point in their careers. They are Dream Alliance, Raising Sixty-One and Saint Tropez, who will be lining up in the SG$85,000 Japan Racing Association (JRA) Trophy, a Class 2 race and King Of Sixty-One, who will run in the SG$70,000 Class 3 race.
Coincidentally, all three in the JRA Trophy ran in last year’s Singapore Gold Cup. Dream Alliance (x Into Mischief) ran a brave second to Lim’s Kosciuszko, while Raising Sixty-One (x Belardo) finished in fourth and Saint Tropez (x Not A Single Doubt), who was then trained by ex-Kranji trainer Shane Baertschiger, ran second last.
Owned by AJ’s Stable, King Of Sixty-One has also been set on the Gold Cup path after his easy last-start win in a Class 3 race on 22 June and while the son of Gutaifan could have been Fitzsimmons’ fourth runner in the Class 2 race over the mile, owners preferred not to put their eggs in one basket.
Fitzsimmons agreed to split the runners in two races, but his biggest hope would be to get these runners through the races in their Gold Cup campaigns.
“Dream Alliance (second) and Raising Sixty-One (fourth) ran great at their last starts in the Gr1 Kranji Mile and I’m very happy with them,” said the affable trainer.
“Saint Tropez last won in a Class 4 race over 2000m (on 21 April). He can be a bit lazy out of the gates, so jockey Simon Kok will try to ride him more positively this week.
“Hugh will ride Dream Alliance and jockey Ryan Curatolo will be on Raising Sixty-One. We could try to ride these two in mid-field, but I think barriers between one to three would be good for all three of them.
“Again, a genuine pace will be good. It’s a small (7 runners) but strong race with some nice horses in it.
“King Of Sixty-One is also on the Gold Cup prep. He was eight points up after his last win (now at 78). We wanted to run him in the Class 2 race, but the owners have already got Raising Sixty-One in that, so I thought it’s better to split them up.
“It was a last-minute decision to run him in this Class 3 race, but I would have preferred one over 1600m for him because the 1400m could be too sharp and he’s carrying some weight (58.5kgs) here.
“The 1400m is a query but he’d run second once on the trip before (in a Class 4 race on 17 February) and the Short Course will suit him. We’ll try to lead.
“Ryan won well on him the last time, but I’ve already booked jockey Bruno Queiroz on the horse since the time we planned to run him in the Class 2 race and I stay loyal to my decisions.
“It will be great if all of them and Golden Monkey can run in the Singapore Gold Cup.”
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