There will be a six-strong kiwi-bred contingent contesting Sunday’s S$1.35 million Singapore Gold Cup which will be run over the shorter distance of 2000m this year.
Ex-pat New Zealand trainer Stephen Gray has two runners sourced from New Zealand and they have drawn at opposite ends of the barriers.
Sky Rocket has drawn gate five while stablemate Bahana who won the event in 2016, has drawn the widest of Gray’s four runners and will jump from barrier 17.
“Sky Rocket has got a good draw as he can go wherever he wants from there,” Gray said.
“As for Bahana, he can be ridden forward or back, it doesn’t matter. In any case, I’m just happy to have four horses in the Gold Cup, it’s fantastic.”
Lee Freedman was happy with the allocation of gate nine for Mr Clint, who won the Singapore Guineas (1600m) earlier this year.
“It’s a nice gate for Mr Clint. He will go forward as there aren’t too many horses (with speed) on his inside,” Freedman said.
The Triple Crown Series will remain unclaimed after Debt Collector was withdrawn from Sunday’s marquee event. The Cliff Brown-trained six-year-old was touted as a hot chance to rewrite history after he claimed the first two legs, the Raffles Cup (1600m) and Queen Elizabeth II Cup (1800m).
– NZ Racing Desk
