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An Alwin Tan forecast does not seem beyond the realms of possibility in the $125,000 Kranji Stakes A race over 1200m on Friday night.
The 2016 Singapore champion trainer has two runners in the standalone meeting’s highlight, Nova Swiss and Super Fortune, who will be ridden by one-kilo-claiming apprentice jockey Troy See and French jockey Olivier Placais respectively.
The duo still meet some tough opponents in the shape of Forever Young, Elusive Emperor and Wimbledon, but Tan had every reason to believe he still stood a good chance of filling the first two spots.
Nova Swiss may have run fifth at his last start in the Group 3 New Year Cup (1200m), but the six-time winner cannot be hastily judged on that run while Super Fortune has stamped himself as one of Tan’s horses to watch this year following four wins (all over 1200m on turf) from six starts last year.
A four-year-old by Mossman, Super Fortune will be at his first 2018 assignment since his second to Skywalk in a Kranji Stakes A race over 1200m on December 3. The promising gelding has been bucking his brands off on the training tracks.
Happy with both horses’ conditions, Tan would not really split them, but said the speedmap would be the key factor.
“To be honest, both horses’ workouts have been good leading up to that race, but a lot will depend on the pace. If the pace is fast, it will suit Super Fortune more,” said the Singaporean handler.
“I think there are at least four or five horses, including Nova Swiss, who are fast and will go forward. Super Fortune will most probably follow in third or fourth spot, he’s the type of horse who can’t be too far back.
“Nova Swiss’s outside barrier (11) is not ideal, but hopefully, Troy can bounce him out quickly and they can find a forward spot without using too much petrol.
“In the New Year Cup, he led, but there was plenty of pace in front and he was a bit keen. I think we can ignore that run as he should be able to settle better this time.”
Tan has been busy looking through racing programmes, both domestically and internationally, in the last few weeks, for some of his best horses, including Super Fortune.
“I’ve planned to race Super Fortune in the (Group 3) Fortune Bowl (1400m), but a lot will depend on how he runs tomorrow,” he said.
“I’m already running Nova Strike and my big boy Infantry in the Fortune Bowl. Super Fortune would be a third runner only if he shows me he can measure up tomorrow.
“I’m also looking at the (Group 3) Committee’s Prize (March 18) for Infantry. It’s run early this year and it’s over 1600m.
“I’ve also entered both horses for Dubai. Infantry for the Dubai Turf (1800m) and the Godolphin Mile (1600m) and Nova Strike for the Dubai Golden Shaheen (1200m) and the Godolphin Mile.”
Tan, who has brought up three winners in the new season thus far, was astonished with the way Infantry has bounced back to full race fitness. The 2017 Singapore Horse of the Year raced in last November’s Dester Singapore Gold Cup (2200m) under an injury cloud (deep cut to near hind fetlock), but still battled on bravely to run fifth to Gilt Complex.
“I was actually pleasantly surprised by the way he trialled today. I thought he would run third or fourth but he did it all by himself for a nice second,” he said.
“He’s close to his peak. Ryan (Curatolo) told me he kept coming along, and he just let him stride to the line.
“He definitely felt the pain in the Gold Cup, but thankfully, the cut has completely healed up during the break.”