3 minute read
Anyone who may have questioned the form out of the Singapore Guineas was quickly put to rest on the weekend with three-year-old Daniel dominating his older rivals on Sunday.
While mixing his form at the beginning of this preparation his sharp return to form behind War Affair two back was quickly franked with an impressive display two length victory.
Stepping out against the older horses for the first time in his career the Laurie Laxon trained galloper looked to appreciate the quicker tempo over the shorter trip after over racing in the Guineas.
After jumping away well Daniel settled down nicely just off the speed in fourth, travelling strongly approaching the turn for home he quickly took over inside the 300m before drawing away from his rivals over the concluding stages.
In what proved his first victory since October last year, Daniel was successful in recording a new career peak, improving on his previous master figure achieved in the Guineas.
There is still obviously a distinct gap to War Affair however it appears that Daniel is open to further improvement up in trip as his form around a mile is very impressive.
If successful he will surprisingly become the first in his immediate family to prove successful at a mile and beyond, though his ratings profile suggests this will eventuate in the near future.
Having displayed plenty of ability early on his career he does appear to be back on track and is arguably the second best three-year-old in Singapore, with his stablemate Goodman hotly on his heels.
A victor of four of his 11 starts to date, he currently stands as the most successful son of Guillotine and only sits second to the promising Beauty's Beast with the most career victories.
Whether Laxon continues to keep him in work this time in remains to be seen however regardless he is definitely a horse worth following as more wins do appear in store.
The 2015 Singapore Derby remains a long way off but if any horse is to challenge War Affair in the feature event, Daniel appears to be the leading contender at this point.
Former Australian based galloper Bellwether proceeded to show sharp improvement at his second start in Singapore when leading throughout to score easily in the third event on Sunday.
Having failed to live up to his heavy market support on debut when missing the minor placings, the son of Bel Esprit went on to reward those who remained loyal.
Previously based in South Australia under the care of Barry Brook, Bellwether first came over to Singapore with some very handy form in the book and now appears back on track to take the next step under the care of Michael Freedman.
One of only two races held on the polytrack on Sunday, Bellwether proceeded to easily break the minute mark and recorded a time well inside standard for a Class 4 event.
On career best form he still looks to have plenty up his sleeve and judging by the ease of his victory, you'd struggle to get Corey Brown out of the saddle.
Brown also suggested after the race that he still has a bit to learn and when he is able to relax better in his races, he expects him to really furnish into a nice horse.
At this stage the 1000m events do appear his main targets and given his current low rating he is expected to continue his rise through the grades and is definitely a galloper worth sticking with.
Progressive four-year-old Eagle Storm was the highest rated victor on Friday night and given the way he disposed of his rivals he is definitely one to keep track of.
Having finished second at his five starts prior the son of Danroad took full advantage of an unpressured lead when kicking strongly at the top of the straight to race away and score easily by two-and-a-half lengths.
While he was gifted the race on Friday his performance was still very impressive as his closing sectional was close to seven lengths inside standard.
In what was surprisingly just his second career victory he was successful in franking the form of both Twickenham and Mia while also continuing his sharp run of consistency.
Barring his effort behind Easy Money four starts back his performances have wavered little on ratings with his latest effort recording a new career peak.
Though not sold whether he can run a mile given the ease at which he was allowed to lead, if faced with similar circumstances at his next start its hard to suggest he will be beaten given the very impressive splits he recorded over the concluding stages.
Expected to be sent for a small break now he is a galloper who should be followed closely on his return especially when he gets up to seven furlongs and beyond.