3 minute read

The weight for-age conditions of the Chairman’s Trophy sees dual Group 1 winner Quechua well placed at Singapore today.

Quechua carries the number one saddlecloth in a highly-competitive running of the Group 2 Chairman’s Trophy (1800m), race nine on the Kranji program.

Quechua is the quality runner of the line-up and meets all of his rivals on favourable terms with all 10 runners carrying 58kg.

Weight-adjusted Timeform figures see Quechua a clear top rater under those weight conditions and he made a timely return to form when winning in strong fashion at his latest outing over 1600m.

In that race he settled well back in the field and looked under pressure on the bend but he wound up strongly in the straight, showing his class late to win by a neck over Spanish Bay.

That was his third run from a spell and he looks ready for the step up to 1800m now, having a win and two placings at his only three tries at the trip.

Quechua has always been a classy performer with five of his eight career wins coming at Group level.

That includes Group 1 victories in the 2014 Singapore Gold Cup (2200m) and 2015 Singapore Derby (2000m) and while today’s event is slightly short of those distances, one of his 1800m placings came when third in the Group 1 Raffles Cup behind Stepitup last year.

Jockey Corey Brown sticks with him having won seven of his 17 rides on Quechua and he should be able to work forward from the gates to take closer order stepping up in distance today.

Majestic Moments deserves a feature win after running good seconds at his last two outings at Group 1 level.

He has yet to win in stakes company but is up to a race like this after going within less than a length of victory in the Singapore Derby (2000m) and the Patron’s Bowl (1600m).

Majestic Moments loomed up to the win the Derby last time but was run down late by Well Done while in the Patron’s Bowl he settled back in the field before running on for a close second to the same horse.

Those runs indicate the 1800m should be a suitable journey for him despite having missed a place at his two previous attempts.

Majestic Moments has been kept up to the mark with a barrier trial since his Derby effort and if he runs up to his recent form only Quechua can boast a better figure on weight-adjusted Timeform ratings.

Mr Spielberg comes through similar form lines after a luckless fourth placing in the Singapore Derby but he made up for that when winning a benchmark 97 over 1600m last weekend.

He is on the quick back-up and needs to go to another level based on Timeform ratings but he looks a horse capable of doing just that, having won six of his 20 starts.

The distance is no concern as Mr Spielberg has won at 1800m before and has been successful up to 2200m with his last performance at the mile when he did his best work late suggesting he is looking for longer.

Glen Boss has only recently combined with him but they are becoming a successful combination, Boss winning two of his three rides on Mr Spielberg along with the unlucky Derby run.

Best Tothelign can’t boast the class of some of his rivals but one thing he does possess is consistency and that can carry him a long way in a race like this.

He won the Group 3 Colonial Chief Stakes over 1700m last December and ran top three in his first three outings this campaign including a first up win over 1400m then was beaten less than a length at his next two.

Best Tothelign tired last time after going hard in the lead but boxed on solidly to only finish 1.7 lengths away and up to 1800m for the first time he may be able to travel at a more suitable tempo up front.