3 minute read

The Cliff Brown trained Draco was clearly one of the stand-out performances of the weekend, when notching up back to back wins at Kranji on Friday evening.

Only lightly raced, Draco has clearly returned in great order and more wins appear in store for the son of Falkirk.

An impressive maiden winner first up, Draco proceeded to take that next step, when making the rise to Class 4 company.

Draco

Ridden patiently by Gerald Mosse, favourite punters were entitled to head to the bar for a stiff drink passing the 700m, with Draco hemmed away, well back on the inside.

Eased off the fence passing the 500m, Mosse began to make his run on Draco with the three-year-old pulled one of the widest runners on straightening.

Left with plenty to do, Draco conceded a sizable start to his main rivals, but once allowed to work through his gears, he really started to launch.

Displaying a very sharp turn of foot, Draco quickly surged up to the lead inside the 100m, before asserting his authority late.

Although only a narrow margin, his performance was very impressive and he is clearly a galloper in the right direction.

While the performance wasn't overly strong against the clock, given the race shape favoured those on-pace, it further highlighted the high level of Draco's performance.

Draco recorded 22.23 seconds for his last 400m, close to three lengths faster than his nearest rival.

For his last 800m he averaged 11.27 200m sections — strong sustained speed for this level of company.

Draco's racing pattern is a slight concern, given it is low percentage, but also because it will become harder for him to concede such a large start when stepping up in grade

That being said Draco gives the impression he will be even better over further and thus with the lesser tempo, he should be able to settle closer to the speed.

Only lightly raced, he is very promising and is certainly a must for your blackbook as he is expected to continue his rise through the grades.

Aramco

On Sunday evening the Shane Baertschiger trained Aramco broke back into the winner's stall when relishing the drop back to 1200m.

Previously trained by Team Hawkes in Australia [Old Name: Mawahibb], Aramco has raced in great order since transferred to Singapore, notching up three wins from six starts.

While failing to see out the 1400m two starts back, Aramco was back to his best when storming home to score easily over 1200m.

In one of the stronger Class 3 events we have seen in recent times, Aramco proved too sharp for Distinctive Darci, with close to four lengths back to third.

Successful in recording a new career peak (in Singapore), Aramco looks to be heading the right way and has somewhat shed his non-winner tag.

Likely to be kept to the sprint trips, Aramco can continue his rise through the grades, with Baertschiger expected to also keep him on the fresh side.

Second placegetter Distinctive Darci also appears back on track and is another worth keeping an eye on.