3 minute read
An unbeaten American bred sprinter resumes in the feature event this evening looking for four wins in a row.
Flash Gift has speed and can do work in the running plus keep kicking so the stronger version this year may well be a sight to see let alone wager upon.
John O’Hara trains the son of Lawyer Ron for the Saratoga Stable and Greg Cheyne has ridden it in every start.
No point in changing a winning combination so tonight in the eighth race on the card, a S$75K Class Three over 1100m on the polytrack, Flash Gift can keep on his wining ways.
Gate eight nor 55kg and being up in class is going to hamper Flash Gift as he is used to sitting wide and has the pace plus ticker to triumph.
His three wins last year came from barriers four, ten and eight and one that stands out is his narrow victory over a rival again this evening in Soul Commander.
Flash Gift beat it when carrying 2kg more plus they both came from outer gates.
This evening he will get 1kg from Soul Commander for a nice 3kg swing and would you believe they are drawn side-by-side in barriers seven and eight.
Soul Commander has won three more races since and likes to burn over early and defy the rest to run him over.
His last start second was brave after coming out smoking from barrier ten to lead and was beaten narrowly in a 58.84 run 1000m.
Manoel Nunes picks up the ride on the Mark Walker runner with Joao Moreira out for a couple of meetings due to suspension.
If you take out the great Moreira then Nunes is riding better than anyone else in Singapore and the amount of different stables that want to put him on now is all the proof you need.
Soul Commander in his last twelve starts has won three times (in a row) and placed seven times plus finished fourth and fifth once each.
He rarely runs a bad race these days and will give bettors a sight from the outset.
The last start win by Flash Gift came in August and saw him beat the useful Running Tall, which has since raced fourteen times for two wins and five placings plus a couple of fourths and fifths.
O’Hara has trialled Flash Gift twice to ready for his resumption and both times he has sped to the lead but kept wide on the track deliberately by Cheyne.
The distinctive high front leg action of the sprinter saw him finish fourth in the first trial and then he won his latest one with a heap in hand.
We already know two runners that will come across smartly early so find something else that can rumble from the outset and it becomes a must include in your multiples.
I see from gate four One Smart Cat at 53kg after a claim as a serious win threat for many reasons and not the least of them being his love for the poly track.
The best draw he has had lifetime was four and the win that resulted was clear-cut under 52.5kg.
Tonight he gets that barrier again and after such a massive performance last start you just cannot leave him out.
He was back and very wide after the apprentice rider tried to restrain the solidly built sprinter but holding back such power is easier said than done.
One Smart Cat went up in lane four closer to midfield and sat deep to the home turn, with the audacity to loom large into second the closing stages simply outrageous.
His eventual third beaten just over a length was some run even after factoring in he carried just 51kg, as they tried to ride him quiet and it was not possible.
Never try to fix something that is already working so One Smart Cat likes to burn early and when drawn to suit then find the rail and see what speeds up alongside.
Harry Kasim will ride One Smart Cat for the first time and he can make it a winning one for the Shane Baertschiger stable.
The apprentice that rode it last start into that huge third was Zulkifli Zuriman and tonight he will partner Royal Tudor for his master Bruce Marsh.
Royal Tudor from gate nine has early speed but this is a field of flyers so it makes for an intriguing opening 400m by which time all riders will have shown their hands.
The two wins and a third by Royal Tudor have shown a nice type but he has been ridden each time by Moreira so Zuriman will need to make his claim down to 49kg matter.
Flash Gift can make it a fourpeat as like many USA bred sprinters they love all weather tracks and can drag race to the home turn and still give another kick.
One Smart Cat has the option draw and if he finds the rail then the rest are going to have to earn their win.
Soul Commander may with his race fitness and like One Smart Cat too, try and make Flash Gift feel vulnerable fresh up so just go flat out from the jump with a last horse standing approach.
Unbeaten runners however always attract extra interest and not just from bettors.
Three punting presents opened so far and a profit each time so why look a gift horse in the mouth?