3 minute read

The Group 1 Singapore Guineas has a new leading contender following the very impressive performance of Jupiter Gold on Sunday.

Trained by Hideyuki Takaoka, Jupiter Gold took a good step forward when simply dominant in the seventh event.

In his first attempt over the mile, the son of Congrats passed with flying colours, settling towards the rear before rounding up his rivals and racing away in the straight.

Jupiter Gold

An impressive winner first up over 1400m, Jupiter Gold has clearly made good improvement off a break and Takaoka looks to have a very promising galloper on his hands.

Ridden by Alan Munro, Jupiter Gold was again ridden patiently and enjoyed the solid tempo set by both Battle Of Troy and B'Nevagivup.

Pulled the widest runner on straightening, Jupiter Gold was left with a fair bit to do, however once balanced up, he began to let down powerfully.

Displaying a very sharp turn of foot, Jupiter Gold quickly ambled up to the lead approaching the 300m before racing away over the concluding stages.

In a most impressive display, Jupiter Gold scored eased down by 2.5L and recorded a new career peak in the process.

Improving six pounds on his first up victory, Jupiter Gold has now improved 14 pounds this preparation and is clearly a three-year-old heading in the right direction.

Very rarely a horse will run up to their peak first up (excluding sprinters), as generally most horses improve with racing.

Third up is usually the sweet spot so given what Jupiter Gold achieved on Sunday, he is certainly set for a bumper preparation.

Jupiter Gold has always given the impression he would be better over further and he certainly confirmed those claims on Sunday.

The Group 1 Singapore Guineas [1600m] is an expected target and while early days, he is obvioiusly on an upward spiral and at this stage is clearly the horse to beat.

Takaoka is a master of training middle distance gallopers and Jupiter Gold is now well on track for grander goals.

If not already in your blackbook, Jupiter Gold is certainly worth including as more wins certainly appear in store.

Trainer Stephen Gray also looks to have unearthed quite a promising type with new stable addition Darc Bounty proving most impressive on Monday.

Darc Bounty

Formerly trained by Leslie Khoo, Darc Bounty had displayed decent ability in his two career starts and proceeded to make a mess of his rivals first up.

Ridden by Vlad Duric, Darc Bounty began well from the inside draw and enjoyed a lovely trail off the Alvin Tan trained Grey Falcon.

While the latter appeared to travel well into the straight, Darc Bounty loomed ominously passing the 500m and proceeded to give Grey Falcon a cold shortly after passing the 300m.

Displaying a very sharp turn of foot, Darc Bounty raced away to score eased down by 7L.

Easily one of the more impressive wins we have seen on the polytrack this season, Darc Bounty is obviously very promising.

While visually impressive, the clock also backed up the strength of his performance with the three-year-old recording comparatively the quickest time of the evening.

If able to back up that level of performance at his next outing Darc Bounty is sure to be winning in Class 4 company and is definitely worth following.