Singapore Set to Welcome the World

A total of 20 horses were entered Thursday and post positions drawn for the two races comprising Sunday’s Singapore International Racing Festival at Kranji Racecourse. 

Five foreign raiders will take on a half-dozen locally based runners in the S$3-million G1 Singapore Airlines International Cup over 2000 meters, headlined by the last two Hong Kong-based winners of the event.  When Military Attack (Ire)(Oratorio {Ire}) took down top honors in 2013 and when he finished third to then-stablemate Dan Excel (Ire) (Shamardal) 12 months ago, he was trained by John Moore, but Caspar Fownes is now handling the 7-year-old. The veteran won his first start for the new stable in October and was a bit unlucky to drop close decisions in his next two–including the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup at this distance–and exits a seventh in the G1 Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin Apr. 26. Fownes was in town Tuesday to check in on his runners, but returned to Hong Kong for Wednesday’s racing at Happy Valley. It was his senior track rider Paul Lo who selected post three for Military Attack at Thursday’s draw. 

“The boss will be happy. It is a great draw for Military Attack. My job looks done now,” Lo commented. 

Dan Excel was given a tremendous ride by Tommy Berry to cause a mild upset in last year’s SAI Cup, defeating Smoking Sun (Smart Strike) by about 1 3/4 lengths. Berry will jet in from Sydney in search of back-to-back victories, but he will have to work out a trip from the 10 hole in the field of 11. 

“He’s got good gate speed. So the barrier position is not a concern for us,” said trainer John Moore. “At his last race in the [G1] Champions Mile in Hong Kong, he led the field at the start and held it for some distance. Not the best of draws but we are not worried.” 

Dan Excel was most recently third, beaten 1 1/2 lengths behind his now-barnmate Able Friend (Aus) (Shamardal) in the mile feature at Sha Tin May 3, a carbon copy of his finish in the 2014 Champions Mile.

Hong Kong horses have won four of the last six runnings of the KrisFlyer, and Lucky Nine (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) will face a pair of his compatriots as he looks for a third consecutive success. Connections selected post position two a year after he overcame the inside barrier to defeat Emperor Max (Aus) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) and Zac Spirit (Aus) (Flying Spur {Aus}). 

Aerovelocity (NZ) (Pins {Aus}), whose wins this season include the G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint and the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen, will be loaded just to the outside of Lucky Nine in gate three. 

“It’s a great draw. He doesn’t have to do too much work,” said Hong Kong-based, but New Zealand-born trainer Paul O’Sullivan. “He just has to sit behind the leaders and keep the pace.” 

Zac Spirit, who will pick up the services of former leading local jockey Joao Moreira, will leave from the middle of the gates in five, while Emperor Max has the inside in a race in which lower gates are usually the more advantageous. 

The third of the Hong Kong raiders is the globe-trotting Rich Tapestry (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), who returns to the grass off a strong third-place effort behind Secret Circle (Eddington) in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen on the dirt Mar. 28. Though he has not won on the grass in over two years, he worked well on the surface Thursday, stopping the clock in :36.1 for his final 600 meters.