3 minute read
A total of three meetings were held in Singapore over the weekend, with a number of eye-catching performances.
Star sprinter Lim's Cruiser was the key stand-out, when he simply demolished his rivals on Tuesday night.
First up since his triumph in this year's Group 1 Lion City Cup [1200m], the son of Casino Prince returned to the races 22kg heavier (547kg) than last seen.In 18 starts in Singapore, it is the heaviest he has ever raced, a key factor which saw him ease in the market to start the $3.00 second elect.
Prior to Tuesday night, 537kg was the heaviest he had been, when he won his first Lion City Cup he weighed in at 528kg and this year was 525kg.While alarming prior to the race, post race it was clear there was nothing to worry about.
Prepped up with three trials, Lim's Cruiser wasn't far off his top and trainer Stephen Gray may have just wanted to keep him on the heavy side with his upcoming trip to Hong Kong — horses generally lose weight when they travel and that way Gray had a bit up his sleeve.Ridden by apprentice Ismadi Amirul, Lim's Cruiser settled fourth along the rail, with the Shane Baertschiger trained Faaltless taking up the running, $1.60 favourite Zac Kasa settled outside the lead.
Tracking up beautifully into the straight, Lim's Cruiser quickly ambled up to the leaders, climbing all over them approaching the 300m.Forcing his way between Faaltless and Zac Kasa, Lim's Cruiser burst through and quickly put the race to bed in a few strides.
Racing away to score by two-and-a-half lengths, Lim's Cruiser returned a new career peak, rated 112 by Timeform.Hong Kong now beckons for the son of Casino Prince, so what chance does he have in the Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint [1200m]?
On the bare form, very little, however he is a decent chance of finishing in the top six.In the last five years, the average Timeform winning rating has been 127, though this has been dragged up by Lord Kanaloa (133) in 2013.
A rating between 123-125 appears the sweet spot and likely winning figure for this year, current favourite Hot King Prawn is rated 121 with more to come, in other words Lim's Cruiser has close to 4L to find.In the past five years the average Timeform rating of the fifth placed horse has been 114, a figure Lim's Cruiser can reach if able to build on his first up win.
No question he is up against it, however his first up win suggests he is back better than ever and not without a fluker's hope of finishing in the first four.