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With only one runner this weekend, Theo Kieser will not be too busy at the races, but still hopes to come away with the same strike rate as the one he enjoyed on February 14 – 100%.
The South African trainer certainly found double the happiness on Valentine’s Day when his two runners Sebas and Supersonicsurprise both scored – a more than welcomed date with better fortunes after his stable was shut down following two confirmed cases of Strangles in his yard five weeks ago.
This time around, only Super Brilliant will represent his yard this week, which will be on Friday night in the $60,000 Fairmont Singapore Cup, a Class 4 Division 2 race over 1200m, and though Kieser wished he could have sent out a bigger team, one solitary win would do.
“It’s not by choice. We did not have horses that were suited to these races and one race we could have runners in was cancelled,” said Kieser.
“It’s just one of those things. Nothing to do with the shutdown, our horses are all back in full swing.”
The Jeffrey Soh (Titanium Racing Stable)-owned Super Brilliant is facing stronger opponents this time, but Kieser has every reason to believe the Exceedingly Good three-year-old can still double up.
“He pulled up good after his last win. He actually galloped very well with KB (race-rider Soo Khoon Beng) on Tuesday,” said Kieser.
“KB told me he was 100% fit now – definitely fitter than at his last start when he had an interrupted prep after the virus issue.
“He got a decent barrier in four and should run well. He’s not a big horse but he has a big heart.
“To be honest, I haven’t had a chance to look at the handicap, but I would imagine he would have a good chance. There is no reason why he won’t put his best foot forward.”
While Super Brilliant has the whole future in front of him, there was less cause for rejoicing for his more famous stablemate Super Winner, who is raced by Soh’s father Seng Lye.
The Kaphero four-year-old was one of last year’s revelations after he recorded four wins in a row to bring his career tally to seven wins only to see that winning streak ended (second) by the mighty Emperor Max in the Group 3 Garden City Trophy (1200m) in September.
Super Winner went on to run a brave third to Jimmy Rea in an Open race over 1200m on November 1 but has not been seen since. In the meantime, he earned an unexpected award at the 2015 Singapore Racing Awards, the Facebook Horse of the Year, but Kieser revealed his racing career may now hang in the balance.
“Unfortunately, Super Winner had problems after his last run. He has some joint issues, which may be some kind of degenerative bone issue,” said the horseman of one of the best horses he has trained in the eight years he has been here.
“I’ll have to train him differently, perhaps more on the walker and in the swimming pool. In fact, he will gallop next week and I’ll then assess how he pulls up.”
While Kieser frets over Super Winner’s future, it is this time of the year when the “king of the kids” gets busier. Well known as a dab hand with two-year-olds, what with the likes of Kaiser, Yin Jie, Goal Keeper in the past, Kieser again has a few “babies” waiting in the wings as the Singapore Golden Horseshoe series kicks off soon.
“I’ve got a few two-year-olds going around, but Ace King is the one who is the most forward at this stage,” said Kieser of the Swiss Ace two-year-old who is also owned by Titanium Racing Stable.
“He trialled in an ORT (Official Race Trial) with KB yesterday and won. He is a bit of a dreamer, he was slow out of the barriers, but once he took over out in front, he was okay.
“He got a bit lost looking around. I think he will get a lot better with some more experience in the trials.
“As for the others, we’ve had some teething troubles with some of them, but they’re coming along slowly. No point rushing them.”