3 minute read
This is not New Orleans, Louisiana or the South African golfer Ernie Els but in fact Kranji, Singapore and a pair of Michael Freedman sprinters.
Photo by Singapore Turf Club
Mr Big and Super Easy have drawn gates one and two respectively in the feature S$500K Lion City Cup over 1200m on the short course C turf track, which is the ninth race on the card.
It has drawn a field of nine and the stablemate battle of Team Freedman runners also sees another jockey challenge to the king of Kranji regarding bettor following in Joao Moreira, with the arrival of New South Wales rider Corey Brown.
Moreira will ride Super Easy and Corey Brown gets atop Mr Big so the likely outcome of the race does seem to be right here.
No doubt Brown with the ace draw will cop some advice pre-race about having to get Off The Rails but with this quick beginner he may just boot through to ensure he is not suddenly shuffled back.
He will not want to blow his first G1 ride in Singapore as Malcolm Johnston and Greg Radley will needle him more than an eager acupuncturist and not let it go for weeks, months and maybe years!
I suspect a Corey Does Kranji piece each week now to become part and parcel on Off The Rails and even the odd Singapore Shout-out.
They may even film the show on International weekend at Kranji with enough expats from Australia and New Zealand to fill a large hall.
Mr Big last start ran a brave fifth in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint (1000m) at Meydan behind the South African star Shea Shea that clocked 56.41.
I felt Mr Big went super as one of just two runners out wide disputing the pace on the grandstand side while the rest came up the middle or closer in.
The record in Singapore for Mr Big is fantastic and he has never been out of the top three with nineteen starts at Kranji for ten wins and nine placings.
He had won two trials before heading to Dubai so was rock hard fit and ready and this fitness level will have been a plus since his arrival home.
Last year he ran third in Lion City Cup albeit distant behind the idol of Kranji in Rocket Man, so something very new will happen at the trophy presentation in 2013.
We will have a new winner of the Lion City Cup as only one name has captured the race in the last four years and that is the local legend Rocket Man.
This is the third leg of the Singapore Sprint Series with the G3 Merlion Trophy going to Speedy Cat and the G3 Kranji Sprint going to El Milagro.
Super Easy like his stablemate Mr Big has never been out of the money in Singapore with fourteen starts for twelve wins and two placings.
His two misses came in Hong Kong when sixth at G2 behind Lucky Nine and ninth at G1 behind the big Japanese star Lord Kanaloa.
Moreira rode Super Easy in a trial just under a fortnight ago and liked what he felt so no surprise his faith in the sprinter/miler is still very much intact.
Three times in a second up state for Super Easy have returned two wins and a second (at G1 behind Better Life).
Gate two gives Moreira plenty of options and in a fast run race his ping could be too potent for his rivals over the closing stages.
There is at least three early burners in the field with apart from Mr Big the flying Emerald Hill and the last start winner in bionic time El Milagro.
You could even add in Meteor Mike coming out smartly from gate three so it all points to Super Easy coming with a super surge to win easy.
Dead footing is fine for Super Easy but anything worse should the rains appear then becomes an unknown, while Mr Big can swim if requited and the weather is irrelevant.
Interestingly we find El Milagro has never beaten home either Super Easy or Mr Big but Emerald Hill throws a spanner into this fact.
Emerald Hill two starts ago finished second and one place ahead of Super Easy in the G3 Merlion Trophy but last start ended up fifth in the Kranji Sprint behind El Milagro.
The winner of the Merlion Trophy was Speedy Cat and the only two runners in the field he has been beaten home by are of course Super Easy and Mr Big.
He is a closer and if they go silly then expect a big pounce from the Alvin Tan trained four-year-old plus Manoel Nunes after a cracker of a ride to score retains the mount.
In what is a musical chairs race for jockey changes that must give bettors a headache we see John Powell, who was the regular rider of Speedy Cat, now get atop the Shane Baertschiger-trained El Milagro.
Before you think the cranial throb will stop then consider Danny Beasley, who won last start on El Milagro in an amazing 1:08.84, will now ride Ghozi from the Baertschiger stable today.
Yes you will find Powell rode Ghozi last start so can someone stop the music now please!
Pat Shaw does not like conceding so after the last four Lion City Cups to Rocket Man he will not go down without a fight.
When he could not defend the 2011 G1 Krisflyer success with the yardstick of all Singapore sprinters in Rocket Man he came out last year and won it with Ato.
Today he has the rejuvenated Martincho Cat that since being kept to sprinting has been winning with aplomb.
His record however of seven runs on the turf for no dividends is alarming but the last start fourth by Martincho Cat in the G3 Kranji Sprint showed this is a very different beast nowadays.
He ran on well from the back after settling in the rear duo from a bad barrier and the turf never affected him at all.
I do not think the WFA scale will affect Martincho Cat as he can carry weight but the likes of Meteor Mike and Secret Mission could at G1 feel the pressure.
Any which way you look at this G1 sprint the Freedman factor comes out on top and I can see Super Easy regaining his mantle while Mr Big could get Corey Brown off to the best start possible.
Enjoy the Freedman show.