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The lightly-raced Eclair Fastpass makes his racing reappearance this Sunday as he takes his first step towards his main mission in May.
Photo by Singapore Turf Club
The talented sprinter beat all but the untouchable Rocket Man in last year's $1 million Group 1 KrisFlyer International Sprint (1200m) to take second place at huge odds of $196.
Raced by Mr Li Chu Kwan, Eclair Fastpass, who has had only 10 starts in two seasons for four wins and three placings, boosted his earnings to $412,000 with that $120,000 runner-up payout from the KrisFlyer.
Any questions about whether he could reproduce that form of international proportions were however left unanswered as he was sent straight to the paddock by trainer Desmond Koh after that race.
The Fastnet Rock five-year-old spent four months at the Kranji spelling station before he was brought back to work. Koh said the long time on the sidelines was not intentional but the 2012 KrisFlyer was always going to be his main objective.
“I gave him a very good break after the KrisFlyer, but he had a few glitches here and there,” said Koh without elaborating.
“All good horses have their glitches and Eclair is no exception and I have to take good care of him. The good news is he has overcome them and has come through very well.”
Koh is replicating Eclair Fastpass's last year's campaign towards the 2011 KrisFlyer whose 2012 renewal will be run on May 20. He had five prep runs from January 21 leading up to his KrisFlyer tilt, including one win at his third start on February 27 and a second to Ghozi in the Group 3 Kranji Sprint (1200m).
“It's been a slow and steady comeback. I didn't want to do any rushed job with him,” said Koh.
“He's still on the heavy side as he's the type of horse who needs a race or two to get cranked up.
“I think now is the right time to bring him back as his campaign towards the KrisFlyer gets underway. He did the same thing last year.
“Knowing him, I'd be surprised if he runs well first-up. He's the kind of horse who won't be switched on until the first race is over.
“He can run as many trials as he can but only a race can bring him on. Remember he won a barrier trial by 10 lengths once and then he ran nowhere at his next race.”
Still, Koh was relatively happy with the gelding's barrier trials, including a fourth on January 10 to Better Be The One, whom he will meet in Sunday's $125,000 Open race over 1200m.
“He went okay. He had a couple – one in December and the latest about two weeks ago,” said Koh.
“He was not out to break any records - just blow away the cobwebs.
“I think he won't have an easy task at his first race. He will need the run to keep tightening up.”
If Koh is not too bullish about a first-up win from his stable star, he will still look to his 10 other runners over the weekend for that much-needed season opener.
Koh, who finished ninth on the premiership last year, is currently the last of the 26 Kranji trainers not to have saddled a winner in the new term, but he is far from blaming his horses.
“They're actually all running good. We had a lot of placings and I think we're No 1 or 2 for seconds,” said Koh who actually recorded six seconds, second-best after Leslie Khoo, Laurie Laxon and Patrick Shaw.
“With a bit luck, those seconds could have been wins, but that's racing for you.
“I can't fault my horses. It's just that they haven't broken through yet.”