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Singapore’s lone contender at the Dubai World Cup meeting on March 30 looked sharp in a barrier trial at Kranji on Tuesday morning.
Photo by Singapore Turf Club
The Michael Freedman-trained Mr Big heads off to Dubai on Saturday week to run in the Group 1 US$1 million Al Quoz Sprint over the straight 1000m at Meydan.
And the gelding will have a new rider with Hong Kong-based Australian jockey Zac Purton to take the mount.
Mr Big, ridden by Danny Beasley, scored a seven-and-a-quarter length victory in his 1000m trial on Tuesday morning, running 60.32 secs, and sporting blinkers which will be added to his gear for Dubai.
The gelding won the Group 3 Magic Millions Juvenile Challenge over 1200m as a two-year-old in 2011 wearing blinkers. He wore the gear at his next two starts but hasn’t had the blinkers on at his past 14 outings.
Freedman said he has decided to apply the blinkers to Mr Big’s gear as the Meydan straight track can be a daunting experience come raceday.
“The big grandstand will be on his right side and going up the straight for the first time, I just feel the blinkers will be a help for him,” said Freedman.
“It can be a bit daunting going up there. We’ll see how he is when he gets there but I might give him a canter up the straight just to have a look at it.
“It’s something that I did with Better Be The One (who finished third) two years ago and it’s something I will consider with this horse.
“He goes over (to Dubai) on Saturday week and will run the following Saturday. We’ll give him a gallop sometime next week and then give him an easy week on arrival and have him fresh.
“He will have done the bulk of his fitness work back here and will have a 12 hour trip a week before the race, so I don’t think he will need too much.
“I wanted to put Danny on him this morning as he’s a good friend of Zac’s and he knows the horse pretty well.”
Freedman said Purton will arrive in Dubai on the Thursday before the Al Quoz Sprint and said it was intended to have him get the feel of Mr Big on the Friday morning and again on Saturday if required.
Beasley, who was a regular partner of Mr Big and won the Juvenile Challenge at his third race start, said the gelding had made plenty of improvement from his early days.
“It was a really nice trial,” said Beasley. “The blinkers on this morning made him really sharp.
“He went through his gears really well and he has certainly stepped up from his early days.
“On that trial and if he can maintain his form, then he should run a really good race in Dubai.”
Mr Big, by Elusive Quality, is yet to miss a place in his 19 career starts – which has yielded 10 victories – and hasn’t raced since winning the Malaysian 2012 Magic Millions Classic over 1200m at Penang on December 30.