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The eighth event on the card tonight is a choice between Joao Moreira the jockey atop Super Good for the Joy N Happiness ownership or My Friend Jo to be ridden by John Powell.
Photo by Racing and Sports
The S$75K Class Three on the poly over 1200m has drawn a good betting field with multiple chances but gates one and two do appeal the most.
Super Good from gate two with Moreira atop the Michael Freedman trained three-year-old looks a big chance at 51.5kg for several reasons.
The gelding has raced three times on the poly for a win and a placing but that masks what better form this really is overall.
He won third up on the poly last campaign in a Class Four from barrier eleven and his two runs this campaign on the all weather have seen a fifth to the strong Bahen and a last start second to the big flowing Huka Falls.
The form stacks up as it showed last week with Huka Falls beating Bahen in a Benchmark 83.
Super Good has only been ridden once by Moreira for a seventh at G2 in the Golden Horseshoe as a juvenile.
Bettors at Kranji are loyal but also smart and they know there are not that many runners Moreira is yet to win on he has ridden and when it comes to the big stables that percentage gets even more in the favour of punters.
It actually makes the runner a better wager if Moreira has been on it before and returns at an opportune time or in this case an ideal race.
He knows the form and if a horse will be better with a bit of time on it, and Super Good is a case in point being by the wonder sire Fastnet Rock, then the phone will ring and the Brazilian will ask if he could ride it this weekend.
Trainers and owners want him atop their runners if they can ever get him so when he asks then the answer is always yes and a heck of a confidence booster too.
My Friend Jo goes super second up (three outings for a win, placing and a fourth) and on the poly has a very consistent record of eight starts on it for a win and a placing.
However the other six times on the poly he has finished either fourth (five times staggeringly) or fifth (once) and first-four bettors should note the former fact.
John Powell rides and he has scored three times on the Shane Baertschiger prepared sprinter/miler.
I felt the fresh up fourth by My Friend Jo under 58kg behind the impressive Huka Falls was a game effort from gate ten.
He has drawn gate one three times before in his career for a first, a third and a fourth so the fence can be his friend.
It should be pointed out here that in his fresh up fourth we saw Super Good with 3kg less finish end up second and two lengths ahead of him at the line.
This evening My Friend Jo has to give Super Good a healthy 5.5kg so it almost is not fair and stop the fight but I do see that inside stall being rather important.
Baertschiger has three runners in the field and all have a varied chance with Terminator and The Shining his other pair.
They each have early pace so could be having a say either early or near the home turn.
Terminator has raced ten times on the poly for four wins and five placings with his one time missing a dividend being three starts ago in Class Three for an apprentice.
Stephen Baster gets aboard Terminator tonight and he is one-for-one on the big horse having prevailed easily five starts ago in a Progressive under 58kg.
He suits the sprinter and at 56kg do not leave them out.
Manoel Nunes has settled into Singaporean racing fantastically well and you can see he will be serious opposition to Moreira in 2013, as he rates them a treat when able to lead but also is not afraid to make proactive rather than reactive decision.
Such is his form this year already he will be much sought after and has gained the ride this evening on Awakened, which now mature is showing what he is really made of as a racehorse.
Awakened has won all his races on the turf and from a handful of poly starts has placed twice.
It will be interesting to see how it goes on the all weather from a wide draw and how Nunes rides the four-year-old.
He trialled up a treat albeit distantly behind the big grey Group sprinter Captain Obvious earlier this month and will have to be wide awake tonight from such a difficult draw.
I think his formlines are solid especially he is now turning placings into wins so strength through maturity and more racing has woken him up into being a racehorse.
Indicio has upside and he cannot be left out of your multiples with a senior rider on tonight after a resumption third for an apprentice.
Alan Munro will suit Indicio that did win second up last preparation and the Stephen Gray stable will be expecting several wins from him this year.
The weight and gate screams Joao is the go to double your money this evening with Super Good as crucially the baby of the field has the best rider atop.
My Friend Jo is a chance from the ace even under topweight and will make the quinella and forecast worthwhile.
I can make a good case for Terminator with Baster getting atop again as a viable chance.
Do not risk leaving out Awakened even from an awkward draw as the Nunes booking is an astute move by trainer David Kok with a sprinter/miler in for a lucrative 2013 now he knows what the winning post is for.
Just remember he is a turfy but the stakemoney on all weather is so good you need an all rounder racehorse now in Singapore.
Enjoy the Joao show.