3 minute read

Exciting star Nova Swiss appears well placed to remain unbeaten when due to contest the fifth event in Singapore this evening.

Having turned plenty of heads in his Singapore debut (23/10/2016), Nova Swiss has since notched up four straight wins, by a combined margin of 15L.

Formerly based in New Zealand the son of Swiss Ace displayed good ability in his five starts and has clearly taken that next step since transferred to Singapore.

Now under the care of Alvin Tan, Nova Swiss has continued to raise the bar with his last start performance simply electric.

Jumping away well from the inside draw, Nova Swiss held his position fourth one off the fence, with the Shane Baertschiger trained Mycaptainoblivious taking up the running.

In firm control on straightening, Nunes always appeared confident and proceeded to take another grip approaching the 300m.

Pulling his way to the lead, Nunes cut Nova Swiss loose inside the 200m and the response was devastating.

In two strides Nova Swiss put a gap on his rivals and quickly drew clear, eased down late to score by four lengths.

Sent out the prohibitive odds of $1.20, Nova Swiss was one for the thrill seekers however he never gave his backers any concern.

Improving seven pounds on his previous best, Nova Swiss continued his upwards spiral and also recorded his strongest performance against the clock.

Having won over both 1000m and 1100m, he was yet to tick the 1200m box, however it would prove no issue for the son of Swiss Ace.

No question he is a Group class sprinter and if able to continue his progression, Nova Swiss is on track to be labelled Singapore's best sprinter by the end of 2017.

On raw times only Spalato went faster over 1000m in 2016, recording 57.93 seconds back in February (14/02).

To place that into perspective, since 2008 only three horses have been recorded faster than Spalato, which highlights just how impressive Nova Swiss' performance was two back.

The Group 2 Merlion Trophy (1200m) is Nova Swiss’ expected target and he can certainly win this along the way.

The feature sprint race is the first Leg of the Singapore Sprint Series and is a race Tan has a good record in, having won it three times in a row between 2013 and 2015 (Speedy Cat and El Padrino twice).

Given two trials in the lead up, Nova Swiss appears ready to rumble and has drawn to receive all the favours on the inside.

When assessing Timeform weight adjusted ratings, Nova Swiss already rates clear and given he is open to further improvement, he should set the bar too high for his rivals.

The David Kok trained Speedy Dragon has placed in 10 of 13 starts and looms as a major/only threat.

An ultra impressive winner at this track prior to a break, he is also a galloper heading in the right direction and cannot be taken lightly.

From the inside draw, he shouldn’t be too far away and if able to run up to his last start performance he is expected to make his presence felt.

The Theo Kieser trained Sebas has been solid in both starts to begin this preparation and should be right at his peak racing third up.

While conceding weight to all of his rivals, he is capable on best form and has to be included in the leading hopes.

Of the rest the Ricardo Le Grange trained The General appears the next in line.

A winner of six of his 26 starts, he is yet to be tried over this trip, however the high pressure should suit and he has to be kept safe.

Good luck and happy punting.