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Trainer James Peters reckoned Grand Cross needed a couple of runs to warm up after the blinkered-gelding scored pretty comfortably in the $80,000 Class 3 race over 1200m on Friday night.
The four-year-old son of Fastnet Rock has now won three races, all with blinkers on. As with his previous wins, it seems Grand Cross gets going with more practice.
During his first prep, it took him five runs to open his account in a Class 4 race over 1100m. This time round, the China Horse Club-owned gelding had two runs after a break, before bouncing back to winning ways on Friday night.
Peters, who went on to score a treble after Winning Express and Dreamweaver (both ridden by Glen Boss) took out the subsequent two races, revealed that the large-framed horse needed time to get fit, and that he would get 1400m in the future.
“After his run in November last year, he was given a break. He is a big, gross horse who takes time to get fit,” said Peters.
“The blinkers were back on, and he was fit and sharp tonight. A couple of runs under the belt did the trick.
“There was good speed to the race. He’s a fast horse.
“I will keep him to 1200m, but I might set him up for 1400m in the future, but that is as far as he gets.”
Grand Cross (Vlad Duric) went forward as the gates flew open. The resuming Flak Jacket (Matthew Kellady) came up on his outside to vie for the lead at the 950m, heading Grand Cross for a moment, but Duric rode with renewed vigour as he got the even-money favourite back in the lead again.
Turning for home, Grand Cross accelerated away under Duric’s urgings. Elusive Emperor (Nooresh Juglall), Flak Jacket and Eatons Gold (Mohd Jailani) tried their best to close in, but only Elusive Emperor managed to put some indent into the margin, finishing one-and-three-quarter lengths away in second.
Eatons Gold, who was backing up after a run last Sunday, did well to settle in third place another three-parts-of-a-length away. The winning time was 1min 9.77secs for the 1200m on the Long Course.
Duric had confidence that he would bag the race, even when Flak Jacket came pressuring on the outside in the backstraight.
“We led slow early, and Matthew and his horse Flak Jacket came on the outside to put pressure on us,” said Duric.
“But I knew the race was always going to be mine. The horse travelled really nicely.
“When I asked for it, he quickened good. He was well prepared for the race and James has done a good job with him.”
A two-time winner back in Australia over sprint distances (900m and 1000m) in country New South Wales (Newcastle and Wyong) when prepared by Gerald Ryan, Grand Cross has a record of three wins and three placings at Kranji from 10 starts, amassing close to $170,000 in prizemoney for the China Horse Club.