3 minute read
Desmond Koh will line up Arowana Dot Com tonight at Kranji looking to add too his training tally for the year so far and to make it six wins out of seven starts for the grey galloper.
Arowana Dot Com will have a few different factors to overcome this evening including as strange as it sounds drawing his best barrier since starting racing in Singapore and having an apprentice rider atop.
His trainer Desmond Koh is currently ninth on the premiership table with thirty wins and has already equalled his tally of last year and a thirteenth finish.
Koh is a trainer on the rise and has a wealth of experience for one of his age and he would love to get somewhere near or eclipse his 2007 effort of fifty winners and fourth at the finish.
He has enjoyed a good recent run of winners and in particular for the Arowana Stable, which race Arowana Dot Com very proudly as one of their galloping gems.
The four-year-old grey is not a big horse but he has a will to win and the ability to surge again late in his races, which is a good trait for a sprinter.
He does have a few foibles however in that his first few strides are often his worst, so drawing gate two tonight is not the automatic confidence tick for bettors in Race Seven because a tardy jump can make it then hard to find clear air.
Arowana Dot Com builds into a race and sitting wide has never worried the gelding nor keeping a leader honest if he can work up outside it, so he is not a one-dimensional horse at all.
The best barrier he has drawn to date has been four and the worst eight, so two tonight against some serious sorts will ensure the full 4kg claiming apprentice has to get out and going from the outset.
If he cannot lock them out on reputation and hold the inside line then must look to get one-off or wider as soon as possible and maintain his ground because they play for keeps in the higher grades.
The weight relief from topweight of 58kg down to 54kg means he can keep winning and it also helps that of his seven rivals three of them will drop back and not get involved in any early positional battle.
I do see the poly track factor as significant for Arowana Dot Com, as he has only run on it under race conditions once for a debut restricted maiden win so is meeting a S$95K Benchmark 83 field tonight on his most vulnerable footing.
The son of Hussonet will be all the rage this evening to continue his meteoric rise through the classes and may not be the only Koh prepared winner this weekend.
He has plenty of runners entered this weekend and a couple of nice first starters in Dominator (R2) tonight and City Lad (R2) on Sunday.
City Lad won a trial and defeated the likely well-backed Jazz It Up in the second event this evening to give bettors and early indicator.
The early dash for position is important in the feature race tonight and two Pat Shaw trained runners sourced form Argentina both have natural early speed but have awkward draws.
Brunei Royal and Funca give Shaw a strong tag-team to topple the hotpot Arowana Dot Com but each will be giving away weight too it.
The two runs by Brunei Royal in Singapore have both shown the gelding has pace and will win his share of races plus each came on the turf, so the switch to the poly is a possible advantage gainer.
He has trialled up a treat on the poly twice before resuming and two weeks ago in preparation for a Benchmark target such as this.
Barend Vorster takes the reins and Olivier Placais, who rode Brunei Royal in his latest trial, will ride stablemate Funca.
Vorster rode Argy Bargy to win that trial and had ridden Brunei Royal at his last start run and in the two trials prior to it resuming in Singapore, so he knows the horse well and is the first choice rider for Team Shaw.
Funca has also trialled up super on the poly and Placais has ridden every time as well as in the lone race start, which returned a big effort under 57kg from a wide gate trying to take on the dominating Dr Grigoros.
I expect both Shaw runners to come out humming and keep the heat on if they cannot get across early but look out if they are allowed to end up in the controlling one and two pacemaking spots on settling.
Imacruiser resumes here and as a proven fresh up and poly performer from the Michael Freedman stable, which has an army of sprinters this year, it looks a threat from a good gate.
Joao Moreira atop will ensure it is heavily backed too as his fan base has been flush with winnings for the last few months such has been the incredible burst of victories that has put him close to the century now.
The 1100m may be a tad short but Imacruiser trialled up well ten days ago for Moreira and on the poly has tried it three times for a Benchmark 83 win, and a placing in Kranji Stakes C and a fourth at that level.
The win did come at a mile and Imacruiser has only one success too his name in twelve starts, so is more a runner for the multiples plus Moreira unusually has been aboard four times and is yet to salute.
If they go too hard then a swamper that likes the poly and is at her best fresh in Corsage comes right into the reckoning from the ace.
The mare over June and July had been rumbling with Derby horses and older male warriors at longer trips, so tonight at 47kg she is the one to cause a minor surprise.
She has finished second to the gifted Rapido Star over 1100m on the poly and did win a Progress over the same trip on poly beating Biggest Secret.
This leaves us with three others runners in the field, with Aradea absolutely colossal in sharing the spoils last start on the poly.
The gelding came from back and wide in lane eight almost throughout to go around the whole field and sustain a burst in the home straight at Class Three.
He is a poly and sprint specialist (all five wins have come at 1000m-1200m) and rarely goes a bad race but bettors seem to let him go out at good odds.
I am sure the betting will underestimate him again tonight.
Kalash at his best could win this comfortably, as this grade is well within his range and he did show last start that a return to form is near at hand.
I liked the way he fought on for fourth in that Benchmark 97 behind the tidy Merchant, which would at its next start be a good thing beaten two lips at G3 after the rider lost the whip for the run home.
Vlad Duric has been called into to get Kalash back into form and he knows the horse well, with two wins and two seconds atop from seven rides.
The 56.5kg is not a problem for the strongly built gelding, which can go forward smartly early or be ridden cold.
If bettors need an example of why he is a chance tonight then consider three starts back under 56.5kg on the poly over 1000m with Duric in the saddle, the Stephen Gray trained gelding ran on well for fifth.
It was a Benchmark 89 won by Dictator and Kalash got home nicely to be beaten a length and three quarters, after drawing gate ten.
Gray could do with a change in fortune to get back into that winning groove.
The last name to discuss is Lady Trio, which on her day is capable of storming home or through late but meets a tough test and is known as a turf only performer at this stage.
She is a stablemate however of Arowana Dot Com and is raced by Desmond Koh, so in a perfect world he runs the quinella this evening!
Enjoy the feature race.
