5 days ago
Problem trio pass test in style
On a track rated "good", the winners of the three trials run on the turf on the morning of Aug 12 came mighty close to breaking the minute mark for the 1,000m.
All three had to settle for times which were just a tick above 60 seconds. Given they were all trialling for various troubles, the trio certainly passed their tests with flying colours.
Quickest of the trio was Kim Kim. The mare ran the trip in 1min 0.38sec.
Following up in the second trial, Kitsune went out and did the distance in 1:00.45.
And, not to be outdone, the third trial of the morning saw Jazz Band stop the clock at 1:00.98.
In the fourth and last trial which was run on the sand at Sungai Besi, Blue Jay took the honours in 1:03.1, a slower time which is par for the course for the alternative surface.
Blue Jay (Joe Kamaruddin) beat Vittoria Perfetta (Oscar Chavez) by a neck. Unfortunately for Vittoria Perfetta, the gallant 10-year-old veteran of eight wins collapsed and died after the winning post.
That sad incident aside, the run of the morning had to be the show put up by Kim Kim in the opening trial.
The seven-year-old mare came with a strong run from midfield under Firman Yap to beat the early front runner Tornado Pegasus (Andre da Silva) by two and a half lengths.
Kim Kim was at the trials by order of the club's veterinary team after she pulled up lame (near fore) when running a distant ninth to Pacific Star in a 1,600m race on Aug 2.
The way is now clear for Kim Kim to pick up from where she left off - which is, trying to add to the three wins she has already secured for trainer Nick Selvan and the one she won for Tim Fitzsimmons at Kranji on Jan 23, 2023 when known as Ahorsewithnoname.
The daughter of Adelaide has had four unplaced runs since her last victory on May 3. But aside from that issue of lameness at her last start, nothing else seems to be amiss.
As for runner-up Tornado Pegasus, he too was at the trials after pulling up lame when finishing down the course in the race won by Pacific Hero on Aug 3.
On the strength of his showing in this latest trial where he attempted to lead all the way, Tornado Pegasus can now resume racing.
But, proceed with caution as at nine years of age, he is no spring chicken.
If you had fancied Kitsune at his last start on Aug 2, you would have been roughly brought down to earth when he played up at the start, fly-jumped when the gates opened and messed it all up.
As it turned out, when he began racing in earnest, he made up loads of ground to run sixth in that race won by Make You Happy.
Those errant manners warranted a test which he too passed quite admirably.
After the Japanese-bred four-year-old by Henry Barows cleared the gates rather effortlessly, he led the field to the first turn on the far side and continued to control the tempo when the seven runners straightened up for the run home.
A furlong and a half out and Grand Supreme began to eat into his lead. Under Marc Lerner's urgings, he looked like he would catch Kitsune.
But the momentum was with the leader who held off the challenge to win by a neck.
The pair left the Jerome Tan-trained Benbo (Akmazani Mazuki) wallowing in third spot, some 3 ¾ lengths in arrears.
After such a fine run, Kitsune looks to be in a good place to finally break through for a win.
Then there was Jazz Band (Shazmin Sudin) who tracked the early leader Mega Titan (da Silva) before taking out the third trial, beating newcomer Sir Ruby (Clyde Leck) by half-a-length. Sabah Win (Chavez) filled in that third spot, a neck away.
Mega Titan, who was having a barrier practice, was eventually eased down to the line to finish sixth.
As for Kim Kim, Kitsune and Jazz Band, they are all set to slip back into their racing plates very soon.
brian@
