3 minute read
The last two phonetic alphabet names are not part of the universally accepted list but as the venue and rider tonight they are certainly a code that bettors can decipher.
Photo by Racing and Sports
Foxtrot Hotel for the Cliff Brown stable will be ridden by Joao Moreira in Race seven, the feature event on the Kranji card this evening.
It is the S$200K G3 Kranji Sprint over 1200m on the short Course B turf track and is the second leg of the Singapore Sprint Series.
Speedy Cat won the first leg, the G3 Merlion Trophy on poly, with Manoel Nunes riding the Alvin Tan prepared runner.
Moreira as usual had a massive choice of rides in the feature but he selected Foxtrot Hotel, a Northern Hemisphere bred sprinter.
He has been atop the son of Majestic Missile twice for a very easy turf win and a solid second behind a rival again tonight in Valevole.
Gate four is ideal this evening and as Moreira cannot make the designated 50kg it is already known Foxtrot Hotel will carry 51.5kg so no issues there.
He has performed in yielding footing so that pesky rain that comes from nowhere at times and dumps at will is not a game changer.
Moreira has always kept close tabs with Foxtrot Hotel as apart from two raceday/night rides he has been on the gelding three times at the trials for two wins and a second to Goalkeeper.
Cliff Brown has deep ended the European bred sprinter once before when tackling the G2 Steward’s Cup last June and finished tenth of sixteen beaten six lengths.
He went a useful race from an awkward gate as was trapped very deep throughout and the winner Gingerbread Man (a rival again tonight) then was in impervious form plus of course all runners carried 57kg under set weights for the four-year-old feature.
There seems to be good early pace in the race but that is tempered by some of the form sprinters never having either run or won on the turf.
Emerald Hill has speed and can lead or pressure the pacemakers so at first glance he must be a serious chance and especially after a last start game second under 57.5kg in the Merlion Trophy.
Hard to complain when he drops to 55.5kg here and gate ten can be cancelled out in a flash but the American bred burner has never raced on the Kranji turf.
When you consider he beat home Super Easy and Huka Falls last start it looks a superb result but until you know he can sprint on the turf then it remains until tonight an unknown known!
Valevole was poor last start in the Merlion Trophy but at his best is more than competitive here at 52.5kg being a six-race winner.
However he is yet to win on the turf with two placings in three attempts so a risk and therefore a doubt on him this evening.
Gingerbread Man loves the turf with all his eleven wins coming on it plus as a G1 winner once and a dual G2 and G3 winner his class is a given.
He has not come back yet this time in and has 59kg to carry tonight from gate eleven so has some obstacles to overcome.
I do like the booking of Jose Verenzuela, as when there is something strange or not going right in the form neighborhood then who do you call?
No, not the Ghostbusters but in fact Verenzuela, as he can solve the form problems and get good horses back into their comfort zones by kidding rather than scaring them.
Martincho Cat has been a revelation now tried as a sprinter by Pat Shaw and ridden by Barend Vorster but once again his six starts on the turf with just a couple of fourths to show is the worry.
Savannah Dancer was a good thing beaten last start for Moreira in the G3 Three Rings Trophy and the Michael Freedman trained mare will be ridden by Manoel Nunes tonight.
He has ridden her once before and the result was a six length romp in January on the turf.
Gate two and 50kg makes this four-year-old a force for sure in the feature.
Freedman won this race last year with Mr Big, a brave fifth last weekend to Shea Shea in the G1 Al Quoz at Meydan, and would like to defend the title.
The speed of Makkura allows her a chance from gate three at 50kg and the mare at least has won on the turf before.
I consider Hammer Down second up on the turf in a proven striking zone as a chance and did not mind his resumption effort on the poly at all.
Bruce Marsh has Gingerbread Man and he in the race so does have a likely say in the finish with perhaps Hammer Down the multiples value.
Marsh will be at Rosehill on Saturday to proudly watch his son Stephen line up Ruud Awakening in the G1 Golden Slipper and try to become the first New Zealand trained winner of that richest juvenile race in the world.
Rangi used to send horses to Brisbane and clean up in the 1980s for New Zealand (from his Woodville base) with big race winners such as Marlon, Double You Em and Mr Shannon to name a few.
He even won the 1971 Melbourne Cup as a jockey atop the grey Silver Knight for legendary trainer George Hanlon but even he knows what his son is attempting to achieve on Saturday in Sydney is unchartered horseman waters.
The up and coming El Milagro has been trialled twice to resume here and looked in awesome shape plus the four-year-old is nearly unbeaten resuming (three starts for two wins and a placing).
El Milagro has won twice on the turf but also he finished fifth at G1 and G2 on it, when beaten less than three lengths each time, behind Super Easy.
Shane Baertschiger trains and Danny Beasley picks up the ride for the first time so leave him out at your punting peril.
His father Don Baertschiger won this race in 2007 with Always Fast.
The coded message tonight says Foxtrot Hotel is the battle bettors want to participate in big time.
Savannah Dancer looks an untapped mare this year and is a threat for the formidable Freedman and Nunes pairing.
El Milagro can win fresh up and Hammer Down is one to boost the trifecta.
Enjoy the feature sprint.