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The feature event on an all polytrack card this evening at Kranji is a Class Three and only one competitor in the field has ever scored against this grade before.
Eight runners make up the sixth event tonight, a S$75K over 1600m, and only John Of Arch has conquered this class before.
The seven-year-old has drawn the ace and under 55.5kg with Danny Beasley to ride, it looks the winner by a simple process of elimination.
Last start the gelding ran a good second albeit distant in a Class Three over 1700m on the poly under 53kg behind the gifted Lizarre.
This is the best formline for the opposition he meets tonight, as Lizarre can keep winning in Singapore.
The affable Englishman Alan Munro has been riding John Of Arch lately but Beasley knows the horse well enough.
He has been aboard eleven times for a win, four placings and three times fourth.
John Of Arch loves the mile and the poly, with a case for even more so as he has got older.
His last three outings on the poly have returned two wins and that last start second.
The gelding is the only runner in the field tonight to have beaten Class Three before and he did so over the mile on the poly in May of 2009.
It is worth adding the horse he beat that date was Risky Business and he has won seven more races since including three of them having come at G1.
I find it hard to see John Of Arch beaten when last start he defeated comfortably three of his rivals tonight, with Daad's The Way, Joyluck and Quinta De Lago the names in order.
He is either weighted the same gap or no more than half a kilo worse off and he beat those three home by a length and three quarters up to three and a quarter lengths at the finish.
Just to give you an idea of how the field tonight have not handled Class Three, here are the number of starts for each in the brackets for obviously no success yet in this grade.
Lockdown (10), Shining Glory (1), Joyluck (2), Iluminado (2), Bay Of Island (9), Daad's The Way (8) and Quinta De Lago (2).
I should mention that Lockdown and Bay Of Island have both won a Kranji Stakes C on the poly, with the former having done so over 1700m two starts ago and the latter over a mile in April of 2009.
Lockdown is the second pick tonight because he has the stronger and more recent form and has won three times this year for the current premiership leading Pat Shaw stable.
That win two starts back came under 55kg and a currently in form Barend Vorster rode, with the runner up being Superczar and that is trained by David Hill.
Ironically we find the Hill trained John Of Arch is favoured to beat the Shaw prepared Lockdown here.
Also in that win Lockdown easily defeated Iluminado and Quinta De Lago, two of his rivals again tonight.
I do not see the 57kg being a stopper for Lockdown and in fact he does look well situated, with the minimum being just 3kg lighter.
Almost all of these have regularly met each other at Kranji but one name is yet to come up against any of these and in fact has never tackled the mile before either.
Shining Glory almost has to be third pick here, as he is an unknown to the opposition but a very good poly sprinter looking to stretch to the mile.
He does look the worst of weight wise here, as he gets 56kg for what is his second ever outing in this grade.
The gelding last start only had to carry 51.5kg in Class Three on the turf albeit after a 3kg claim but he is in effect up 1.5kg tonight for finishing fifth.
What he competed against last start however was superior to what he meets here and the effort was stupendous too, as the five-year-old got savaged in front.
John Powell will ride and he has a good record on the Don Baertschiger trained galloper, with eight times atop for two wins and four placings.
Joyluck is always capable of bobbing up in events such, as this is a poly performer through and through.
Bay Of Island now he has rediscovered that winning feeling may want to keep it and is poly proven but this will be his tenth shot at Class Three here.
Iluminado is yet to win on the poly, while Daad's The Way and Quinta De Lago have won three and two times respectively.
John Of Arch and Lockdown look the top two and Shining Glory the unknown miler and therefore a threat.
Enjoy the race.
