Singapore Turf Club
The Post Position Draw for the Singapore Airlines International Cup (2000m) and KrisFlyer International Sprint (1200m) on May 18 took place on Thursday afternoon, and has as usual drawn its mixed bag of reactions.
Last year’s SIA Cup-winning trainer John Moore, who has come back with a three-pronged attack in the two feature events this year, is one who would have a bittersweet taste after the draw. While he was elated SIA Cup runner-up DAN EXCEL cracked the plum barrier No 1, the winner MILITARY ATTACK and likely favourite was not as lucky. To compound matters, his KrisFlyer contender STERLING CITY was allocated the widest gate in 10, raising hopes a little more in some rival camps.
For other connections, the wide spectrum of reactions could be felt from the “Terrific” and “Can’t complain” of trainers Steven Burridge (WILD GEESE in No 2 in SIA Cup) and Jeremy Gask (MEDICEAN MAN in No 1 in KrisFlyer) to the “Not flash” from trainer Pascal Bary about SMOKING SUN’s second worst gate in 11 and the deflated “Can’t believe it” from trainer Doug Watson, who was for the second year running picking up barrier No 12 (Meandre last year) for LIMARIO in the SIA Cup. But regardless of the luck of the draw, a race is run on the track, and all headed back, still hopeful they can snare the top prizes on Sunday.
SINGAPORE AIRLINES INTERNATIONAL CUP
DAN EXCEL (HK) and MILITARY ATTACK (HK) – Barriers No 1 & 10 “If I could swap them around, then I would. Dan Excel has good gate speed, so gate 10 would be less of a problem for him,” said trainer John Moore. “But the stable, the team always goes into their races positive and we’re going in positive. We’re going in with fit horses with the form on the board. There’s a bit of luck in running involved. It’s going to test Military Attack. As I said, if he can get three deep with cover, in midfield, I’ll be a happy man.
“Military Attack won this race very easily last year and he’s coming into this race with the same form and I’m sure with the Magician Joao Moreira on board he’ll be up in midfield, maybe a little better, and if he’s three deep with cover, he’s still going to be able to unleash that burst that we know he has. “And I still think he’s the one to beat.” For the record, Dan Excel also drew marble one last year, but Military Attack was a lot closer to the rails in barrier No 4.
WILD GEESE (SG) – Barrier No 2 “It’s a terrific draw, lovely,” said trainer Steven Burridge after owner Dr Tan Kai Chah pulled out marble No 2 for Wild Geese. “It gives us every chance. When you draw an inside barrier, you can only hope you have a horse who can take full advantage of that. “Hopefully we can get a nice run throughout the race and it’s all up to Harry (apprentice jockey A’Isisuhairi Kasim in the race) now.”
MULL OF KILLOUGH (UK) – Barrier No 3 “This is a lot better than 8 (barrier gate drawn by Mull Of Killough last year when he ran fifth),” said a delighted trainer Jane Chapple-Hyam. “It’s a good draw and I’m sure Mr Oliver (jockey Damien Oliver) will be very happy. It sure gives us a lot more options. “I think Tokei Halo and Side Glance are the speed horses in the race and they are drawn on our outside. Hopefully, we can slot in behind one of them, though I know there will be 11 other people who would want to do that.”
SI SAGE (USA) – Barrier No 4 “I was hoping for 7 or better and I got 4 which is good,” said US trainer Darrell Vienna, who just arrived from Los Angeles in the morning. “He can run either forward or from the back, and I suspect he’ll be on the pace. Anyway, I’ll have to see the form and we need to work out a plan.”
Patrick Shaw
TROPAIOS (SG) – Barrier No 5 “It’s a nice draw – somewhere midway. We’ll have plenty of options how to ride the horse,” said trainer Michael Freedman. “(Jockey) Zac (Purton) couldn’t be unhappy with that draw. I guess it will depend on how the race is being run as well.”
JOHNNY GUITAR (SG) – Barrier No 6 “Very happy with that,” said jockey Barend Vorster, who will ride the Argentinian-bred galloper for South African trainer Patrick Shaw. “We can sit in midfield and see what happens in front of us depending on the speed of the race. There’s no need to rush, which is great. “And if there’s speed on the outside, we can just follow it.”
SIDE GLANCE (UK) – Barrier No 7 “At least it’s not 12,” was trainer Andrew Balding’s track rider cum travelling head lad Leanne Masterton’s first reaction at drawing the mid-range gate. “We’ll get plenty of options from there. I think it will be fine.”
CITY LAD (SG) – Barrier No 8 “I’m very happy with eight. It’s a good draw,” was trainer Desmond Koh’s positive take on his allocated post. “Eight is not bad, even if there are only 12 runners. At least, it’s not way out there. If he jumps good, he won’t have to press forward. I hope he can slot behind the speed and get some cover. If he can do that, then I hope he can run together with the rest when they come down the last 600m. What I want is get some cover, and with some luck, he should be able to get it from this gate.”
TOKEI HALO (JPN) – Barrier No 9 The Japanese team was the last to draw a barrier and there were no surprises when they selected gate No 9. “There was nothing much left for us,” said trainer Hisashi Shimizu who was in good spirits. “It doesn’t matter where the horse was going to jump from. I’m happy with the barrier. He’s a horse that starts well and likes to lead races. So we’ll try to take up a good position quickly and see how the others react.”
SMOKING SUN (FRA) – Barrier No 11 “Not too flash, but at least, we’re right next to the favourite (Military Attack),” said 2009 SIA Cup-winning (Gloria De Campeao) trainer Pascal Bary. “It’s not good for him as he gallops and normally races up there, but what to do, we’ll have to accept it. I will go and check how many horses won from barrier No 11.”
NOTE: Mummify (2005) is the only of the 13 past winners to have won from barrier No 11.
LIMARIO (RUS) – Barrier No 12 Trainer Doug Watson bore a look of incredulity and exasperation when he returned after his SIA Cup runner was struck with a horror draw for the second straight year. Last year, his French triple-Group 1 winner Meandre drew gate 12 (he finished 9th out of 13 runners). “I can’t believe this. We got 12 again,” said a bemused Watson. “It’s not ideal. He’s going to have to go forward but he’s a horse with speed.”
KRISFLYER INTERNATIONAL SPRINT
MEDICEAN MAN (UK) – Barrier No 1 “I’m happy with that, better in than out, can’t complain,” said trainer Jeremy Gask. “There were a lot of numbers out there and there is only one No 1. That will help him sit right behind the speed and follow them when they launch in the home straight. In Dubai, he got an inside draw around the bend once. He railed through and was on the paint, and won.”
LUCKY NINE (HK) – Barrier No 2 “It’s a very good draw for us and I’m sure the boss will be very pleased about this,” said track rider Richard So, who took a photo of the completed draw sheet and sent it immediately to Hong Kong-based trainer Caspar Fownes who flew home on Wednesday. With only gates No 2 and 10 left, the connections were the penultimate group to draw the barrier followed by John Moore’s stable, which ended up with the dreaded outermost alley. “Definitely better than barrier 10,” grinned So. “It’s such a relief and we were very lucky today.”
ZAC SPIRIT (SG) – Barrier No 3 “Three is very good. He will sit behind the speed and will get the perfect run,” said trainer Cliff Brown. “He’s in good form and Alan (Munro) knows the horse well. Whether he can beat the Hong Kong horses now, we’ll see.”
SLEW OF LODE (SG) – Barrier No 4 “Gate 4 isn’t ideal to be honest. I would have preferred something further wide like seven or eight,” said trainer Patrick Shaw. “It would have suited him better and he could sit back and look at how things develop in front of him. I don’t expect there’s going to be much pace in the race. I’m going to leave it up to (jockey) Johnny (Powell) to decide what he wants to do in the race.”
EMPEROR MAX (SG) – Barrier No 5 Trainer Stephen Gray wore a wide grin on his face as he descended the stage after what he described as the “perfect draw” for his star sprinter. “Perfect, just perfect,” said the Kiwi conditioner. “It’s a great draw for him. It gives him a few options and he can do what he wants from that position. It’s in the jockey’s (Zac Purton) hands now. I’ll leave it to him and the horse.”
Barend Voster
GOAL KEEPER (SG) – Barrier No 6 “I was actually worried about getting a ‘very good’ draw as he might get stuck on the fence, like he was in the Kranji Sprint,” said trainer Theo Kieser. “He just couldn’t get out. I was hoping for 4, 5 or 6 and I got 6 which is perfect.” Jockey Barend Vorster also expressed his satisfaction about Goal Keeper’s middle draw. “It’s a pretty good draw, just like for Johnny Guitar (who coincidentally drew barrier No 6 as well in the SIA Cup),” said the South African jockey who won the KrisFlyer in 2012 with local hope Ato. “I’ll see what the speed is and if Joao (Moreira on Sterling City who drew the widest) has to do some work on the outside to go forward, I’ll follow him and let him give me a good cart. But I will also look at the speed on my inside. Sometimes you have to judge from both sides and then play it by ear really.”
EL PADRINO (SG) and CAPTAIN OBVIOUS (SG) – Barriers No 7 & 8. There were mixed emotions from leading local trainer Alwin Tan after his pair of runners drew the outer gates. “I’m very happy with gate 7 for El Padrino,” said the Singaporean handler. “It suits him nicely and he can stay out there and wait. Unfortunately No 8 isn’t that good for Captain Obvious. He will have a bit of work to do from there. “It depends on the pace of the race. If it’s slow, he will have to get to the front, but I would prefer if he doesn’t take the lead too early. But (jockey) Oscar (Chavez) has good judgement on that horse and I’m sure he’ll be able to cope even with this gate.”
BALMONT MAST (IRE) – Barrier No 9. “Nine is not ideal, but we’ll see how it goes. Obviously, we’ll have to sit down and discuss,” said a disappointed Sarah Lynam, daughter of trainer Edward Lynam, who will not be in Singapore this year. “Dad will wake up to some bad news.” Last year, the Irish sprinter drew barrier No 2 and ran a closing fourth to Lucky Nine.
STERLING CITY (HK) – Barrier No 10. “It’s not ideal but it’s not the end of the world though, of course, it’s obviously going to be a big challenge for us,” said trainer John Moore. “It makes it more difficult, but it’s 10 of 10, not 14 of 14.” “I’m going to have to sit down with (jockey) Joao (Moreira) and study the race and come up with a plan for Sunday. Joao is excellent at studying horse form and he knows this track like the back of his hand. You couldn’t get a better jockey than Joao. Leave it up to Joao, he won in Dubai and he knows what’s inside the horse. I’m sure he’ll find the right place for the horse and we know he’ll be kicking hard at the end.”
